The story of Leicester City’s improbable rise to the top of global soccer’s wealthiest league starts with a low budget approached towards the transfer of new players. The success has enriched its owners the club is now worth an estimated eight times what Thai duty-free billionaire Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha paid for it six years ago. It has also tormented the big spenders that typically top the standings and challenged the long-held belief that, in the Premier League, the more you pay, the more you win.
To be fair, all Premier League teams receive a share of the league’s generous broadcast deal. By holding on to its spot in England’s top league which the Foxes did by winning a stunning seven of nine games at the end of last season; Leicester continues to enjoy the success of maintaining such a stunning winning percentage. After its 14th-place finish last year, the team generated 104 million pounds in revenue, including about 72 million from the league’s broadcast money, and turned a profit of 26 million, its first in almost a decade.
If the team wins the league this year, it can expect an even larger share. Last year’s winner, Chelsea, got around 99 million pounds. Official numbers won’t be available for a year, but it’s reasonable to assume that Leicester’s overall revenue will rise by 30 percent.
“The Leicester squad has been assembled for about the cost of 22 million pounds,” Matthew Walker, an analyst from Nomura Holdings, said during an earnings call, “When you head into the transfer window in the summer, can you explain why … the bigger clubs can’t find relatively cheap players like Leicester?”
Even Foxes faithful might profit from the team’s unprecedented run. London-based Ladbrokes PLC gave fans 5,000-to-1 odds on Leicester to win its first ever top division title before the season started. At least one cashed in early, turning his 50-pound bet into a 72,000-pound payout earlier this month. Today, the same bookmaker has Leicester a favorite at 4-5.
link: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-03-18/leicester-city-mounts-english-premier-league-title-charge
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