Real Madrid post record €1.22bn revenue in trophyless 2025-26 season

Real Madrid post record revenue despite trophyless season

Real Madrid finished the 2025-26 season without a major trophy, yet their finances tell a very different story. The club generated operating revenue of €1,221.3 million ($1.42 billion), becoming the first organisation in sports history to cross the €1.2 billion mark.

The club's board approved the accounts for the 2025-26 financial year on July 28, 2026. Operating revenue rose 3.1% from the previous year, marking the club's third consecutive annual revenue record. Operating revenue excludes player transfer fees. Record earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) reached €287 million ($333.4 million), an 18% rise year on year.

An accounting footnote

The published total includes €23.5 million ($27.3 million) recognised through the reversal of a financial provision linked to a European Commission case settled the previous year. Without that amount, operating revenue would be approximately €1.198 billion ($1.39 billion), just below the historic threshold. Madrid would still rank among the world's highest-earning sporting organisations.

The Bernabéu as a revenue engine

The renovated Santiago Bernabéu contributed €363 million ($421.7 million) in 2025-26, an 11% increase from the previous season and more than double the stadium income generated before the redevelopment. Matchday operations, premium hospitality, stadium experiences and personal seat licences have expanded the venue's earning potential. Personal seat licences give supporters the right to buy season tickets over the next three decades.

The redevelopment has added a retractable roof, a 360-degree video scoreboard and an underground pitch-storage system. Its cumulative cost reached €1.407 billion ($1.63 billion) by the end of 2025-26, compared with an original plan of €575 million ($667.9 million) in 2018. Madrid spent €184 million ($213.7 million) on work during the latest financial year, including mandatory soundproofing upgrades.

The project has come with constraints. Major music concerts have been suspended since late 2024 following neighbourhood noise complaints and a 55-decibel limit, forcing performances by artists including Aitana and Lola Índigo to move to other venues. Spain's Supreme Court also blocked two proposed nearby parking facilities, removing another potential source of long-term income. Madrid officials have played down the financial impact, saying the parking project would not materially alter the club's overall position.

The stadium carries approximately €1.1 billion ($1.28 billion) in outstanding project debt through three long-term, fixed-interest loans taken out in 2019, 2021 and 2023. This is accounted for separately from ordinary operations, leaving reported day-to-day net debt at approximately €9 million ($10.5 million). With annual debt repayments of around €60 million ($69.7 million), the stadium must keep generating substantial returns.

Sponsorships push commercial income higher

Marketing revenue reached €539 million ($626.1 million) in 2025-26, a 6% annual increase and roughly 82% above the pre-renovation 2018-19 baseline. Three key agreements are estimated to generate between €290 million and €300 million ($337.1 million-$348.7 million) a year:

• Adidas: kit deal worth approximately €120 million ($139.4 million) per year. The partnership was renewed on June 10, 2026, running until 2034.
• Emirates: estimated €100 million ($116.2 million) annually as principal shirt sponsor. The agreement was extended on June 9, 2026, securing the front of the shirt through 2031.
• HP: estimated €70 million to €80 million ($81.5 million-$92.9 million) through its sleeve partnership. Signed on February 2, 2024, it was the first time in the club's 121-year history that a sponsor's logo appeared on the playing shirt's sleeve.

Global merchandising and licensing is estimated at €140 million to €150 million ($162.6 million-$174.3 million), with a further €90 million to €110 million ($104.5 million-$127.8 million) from regional and secondary partners. Official shirts, training equipment, the Bernabéu megastore, online sales and more than 30 corporate partners help the club monetise its global popularity beyond the weekly television audience.

Heavy squad investment with an eye on sustainability

The club allocated €161 million ($187.1 million) directly to new player signings in 2025-26. Overall sports staff expenses, including wages and the annual accounting cost of transfer fees, rose from €540 million ($627.2 million) in 2018-19 to €618 million ($717.8 million). Player wages and transfer amortisation represented approximately 46% of total revenue, below the 50% threshold the club uses as a benchmark for financial discipline. Madrid also invested €192 million ($222.9 million) in facilities, technology and infrastructure.

Context

Earlier coverage by Times of India, published on September 22, 2026, reported that Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods remain the highest-earning athletes in sports history by career earnings, ahead of active stars Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, according to Sportico's inflation-adjusted ranking.