The reasons why Real Madrid dribbles the ERTE

“Our parties are not canceled, they are postponed. There are things that can be done on the international calendar that would make it possible for the season to end if things clear up between now and April. Sand we end up playing the whole season, so the economic impact is going to be substantially mitigated, ”says Dave Hopkinson, Global Director of Real Madrid Sponsorships, in a recent interview at Glory Media. “The same we see a change in behavior in people and it takes time to return to a stadium of 80,000 people like the Bernabéu. But we will be fine. If the balance this season comes out negative it will be hard. We will have an impact with the fans, we will not have the money for the tickets, an impact with the sponsors who may be looking for a refund of part of the money from their contracts or looking to make certain adjustments. You are in a very complicated world if your business closes and the opportunities to generate profit are continuously being lost these days. Postponement in the calendar? We will be fine. No postponement on the calendar? We will not be well. ” The coronavirus has pushed the clubs to a limit and Madrid is no exception.

At the moment, contrary to what has happened in clubs such as Barcelona, ​​Espanyol or Atlético, Real Madrid has slipped that it will not need ERTE to stabilize its economic situation. Everything, hoping that, as Rubiales has stated, the domestic competitions can end even if the summer is entered. The white entity has the ability to cushion the impact of the coronavirus crisis by its solid accounts. In the last ten years (since 2009, when Florentino Pérez returned to the presidency) he has accumulated a net profit of 324 million euros. One after another, all accounts have returned a positive balance.

The Real Madrid mattress is fluffy, but you should not lose the perspective that, being a sports club (like Barça, Athletic or Osasuna) it is the board of directors that jointly responds to possible losses in the income statement. This is established by the Sports Law and it is what has led Bartomeu to want to cut 70% of the salaries of his staff while the State of Alarm lasts. In the case of Madrid, the guarantee of 75 million euros put in by Florentino Pérez's board of directors for the 2009 elections (15% of the budget at that time) was lifted when benefits of the same amount were achieved. But, if the numbers return red …

There is something that Real Madrid has taken great care of in the last decade and that allows it to survive now. This is what the ECA (Association of European Clubs) calls the Efficiency Ratio. The Efficiency Ratio is the percentage of the total salaries of the entity's workers (in the case of Madrid there are more than 800) with respect to the total operating income (before the disposal of fixed assets). The ECA recommends that it not exceed 70%. According to the latest accounts approved in Madrid (those of the 2018-19) that ratio is 52%, a spectacular figure. The total wage bill is 394 million and the operating income is 757 million. Of those 394 million total salary mass, 283 correspond to the salaries of the coaching staff and players of the first squad.

This is the reason, the low ratio of 52%, for which Madrid will not accuse (as long as the competition ends, as Hopkinson says) the first impact of the coronavirus crisis. By way of comparison, in 2018-19 in Barcelona this Efficiency Ratio has shot up to 68% according to the club's report: € 541M of total salary mass (427 for the first team) and ordinary operating income from 836 (which the Blaugrana club increases to 990 because it includes player transfers). Salaries are a slab for Barça. In Madrid, those who charge the most are Ramos, and Bale, both net 14.5 million. At Barça there are three players. Messi, Luis Suárez and Griezmann, who considerably exceed that figure.

In Europe there are already examples of large clubs whose squads are having to adjust to the new situation. In Germany, for example, are the players of Bayern and Schalke those who offered to charge 30% less while soccer is stopped. In Spain the rosary of clubs that host the ERTE begins. Even Al Khelaifi has already said in Paris that there will be reductions in wages at PSG … At the moment, Real Madrid survives the crisis.