Real Madrid went into quarantine last Thursday after the positive for Thomkins coronavirus, player of the basketball section, that forced the isolation of all the employees of the white club. A mobilization of 400 workers that has been accompanied by other difficult decisions, such as the closure of the Bernabéu Tour. The club has put health issues before the rest of the edges of the problem, but without a doubt those edges exist and have their influence. Like the economic one: How much does Madrid cost this situation?
It is a complicated question to answer, since it largely depends on how long the blockade situation experienced by sport in general continues. In LaLiga there is already an estimate of the cost that the false closing of this season would suppose for the First Division clubs: 679 million euros; 549 for television rights, 88 for subscriptions and 42 for box offices. In this cake, the largest pieces are those that would stop perceiving Barcelona and Real Madrid; the culés would stop entering 160 million euros, the whites somewhat less, around 150. LaLiga has faith that the situation is on track and LaLiga can be ended, even if it is behind closed doors; in the RFEF they are not so optimistic and all the options are considered, including the one of not playing more this season.
That cost of subscription and box office is difficult to calculate, since it will depend on how many games Real Madrid stops playing before its public or those that it does not get to play in general, because they are permanently suspended. The income for subscribers and partners in the 2018-19 season was close to 50 million, while the box office income was 119 million. 27 games were played at the Bernabéu; the average is 4.4 million per game, although from this total it could be possible to subtract the income for the basketball section in the WiZink Center (in white accounts the concept is recognized as ‘Stadium’, without specifying more).
It can be said, then, that each match at the Bernabéu represents Madrid, on average, about four million income. And it should not be forgotten that basketball revenues will not arrive either: the ACB and the Euroleague are also stopped until further notice. This season Madrid had a minimum of six games to play at the Bernabéu and a maximum of eight, in case of going back against City and reaching the semifinals of the Champions League.
That would stop losing for every duel at home that does not dispute or that plays behind closed doors. And to this should be added the amounts that must be reimbursed to subscribers by parties not enjoyed, although as it is a cause of force majeure, with the WHO having already considered the pandemic coronavirus, possible compensation for the insurance contracted by the club should be studied. So far, that debate has not taken place in Madrid.
There is also the Bernabéu Tour, which is no small matter, since it is nothing less than the third most visited museum in Madrid, only behind the Prado and Reina Sofía Museums. Up to 1.3 million people visit the Tour each year and its turnover is around 17-18 million euros (The club recognizes operating income of almost 29 million euros in its accounts for the 2018-19 period). We talk about a turnover of around the million and a half a month that will be stopped for the duration of the closing of the white museum.
The income to be received by the Champions League is also in the air, although in this case what has already been accumulated by the progress in the competition is money that the club has: so far Madrid has raised 34.4 million euros in prizes in the European Cup (15 for participation in the group stage, 9.9 for the results in said group stage and 9.5 for access to the round of 16). Madrid would be entitled to that money, pending whether or not they went back on the second leg against City. The money that would be disrupted would be the television market-pool, variable amounts depending on each country and the development of the competition.
The hole for the whites can be bearable or very serious, depending on what this situation lengthens, which will define what the club will stop entering. The biggest problem, should the remainder of the season be suspended, would be in the salaries of the club's employees. Madrid entered 757.3 million in the 2018-19 season and has budgeted to reach 822 this year, a forecast that will clearly be affected by recent events. And in the previous season, more than half of the income was taken by staff salaries: 394 million in personnel expenses (including salaries, Social Security contributions, bonuses, image rights …).
Up to 300 million corresponded to the first soccer squad (coaching staff included), 30.3 in the case of the basketball team and up to 45 million were paid to Non-Sports Personnel of the Soccer section. It is very likely that the wage bill has risen considerably, after the many signings that were made last summer (Hazard, Mendy, Jovic, Militao …), which would make the task even more difficult. Madrid's financial health is very robust, but without a doubt a suspension of the season would be a serious setback for the Madrid coffers. What they do assure from the club is that, whatever happens, the players will collect the integrity of their salaries.