Of the $1.5bn in sponsorship revenue Premier League clubs are estimated to earn throughout the 2021/22 season, a 6.9% increase on the 2020/21 season, 81% will be channelled towards the *Big Six, according to GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.

GlobalData’s latest report, ‘Business of the English Premier League 2021-22 – Property Profile, Sponsorship and Media Landscape’, reveals that the $1.25bn in sponsorship revenue the leading six Premier League clubs are estimated to earn this season is four times as much as the remaining 14 Premier League clubs combined. This highlights the disparity in commercial appeal within the world’s leading domestic soccer competition.

Liam Fox, Sport Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “Despite some unsatisfactory on-field performances for some of the Premier League’s Big Six as of late, their enduring commercial appeal lies in stark contrast to the rest of the league.

“Their extensive global fan bases and social media presence due to consistently appearing on the European stage, their superior stables of global soccer stars and their capacity to win or challenge at the highest level, gives them more scope to attract higher-value sponsors from a wider range of categories and markets. Thus, they have more of an ability to monetise the value of their brands, extract value from their commercial partnership deals and grow their overall commercial revenues.”

*Big Six: Manchester United, Manchester City, Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur