The combined revenues of Barclays Premier League clubs increased by 12% to a record £2.271 billion in the 2010-11 season, but cost control remains a key challenge ahead of the introduction of UEFA's Financial Fair Play (FFP) regulations, according to the Sports Business Group at Deloitte, reports SportBusiness. In its 21st annual review of football finance, Deloitte stated that the top 92 clubs in English football saw revenues increase by 9% to £2.9 billion in 2010-11.

Elsewhere, the total European football market grew to a record £15.3 billion in 2010-11 with Premier League clubs generating the highest revenue of any league in Europe, followed by Germany and Spain (both £1.6 billion), Italy (£1.4 billion), and France (£900 million).

The Bundesliga remained Europe's most profitable league with operating profits of £154 million, a 24% increase on the previous year that widened the gap to the Premier League, where operating profits decreased by £16 million to £68 million.

"Top clubs in English football have continued to show impressive revenue growth despite a difficult economic climate," said Dan Jones, partner in the Sports Business Group at Deloitte. "Premier League clubs' revenues... [were] driven by broadcast revenue increasing by 13%, to £1.178 billion, in the first year of a new three-year broadcast cycle. This uplift was primarily due to an increase in overseas broadcast deal values, demonstrating once again the Premier League's unrivalled global popularity." Jones continued: "Commercial revenue grew by 18% during 2010-11, although this was largely attributable to the clubs that enjoy a more global profile. Match day revenue increased by £20 million (4%) to £551 million, but almost half the clubs suffered a reduction in match day revenue in 2010-11." However, despite the positive trends for the Premier League, there were also negative factors in areas that are set to be crucial ahead of the implementation of FFP. More than 80% of the Premier League clubs' revenue increase was spent on wages, which increased by £201 million (14%) to almost £1.6 billion, and resulted in a record Premier League wages/revenue ratio of 70%. Adam Bull, consultant in the Sports Business Group at Deloitte, added: "Despite the increase in revenue generated by Premier League clubs, operating profits reduced by £16 million (19%) to £68 million in 2010-11 and combined pre-tax losses were £380 million. Gross transfer spending by Premier League clubs increased by £210 million (38%), to a record level of £769 million. "The challenge for clubs remains converting impressive revenue growth into sustainable profits. This will become even more important for a number of clubs as the financial results for 2011-12 will, for the first time, count towards their UEFA Financial Fair Play break-even calculation."

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