France: "Player trading is no longer a complementary activity for our clubs" (D. Quillot, LFP)

"With this record amount of €929m in capital gains due to player transfers (compared to €302m in 2016-17), we can say that player trading is no longer a complementary activity, but is now an integral part of the economic model of French football clubs," stated Didier Quillot, CEO of the LFP, during the publication of the annual report of the DNCG on the 2017-18 accounts of French professional football clubs (documents to download), at the headquarters of the French League in Paris (FRA) on 13/03/2019.

Capital gains on player transfers were the top source of revenue for the Ligue 1 Conforama and Domino's Ligue 2 clubs in 2017-18, followed by audiovisual rights (€911m, -3% year-on-year), other products including merchandising (€400m, +21%), sponsorship (€387m, -1%) and matchday revenue (€209m, +2%).

"We are the best country in the world in terms of player trading, our training is a real French know-how asset, it's an endogenous element that we have to celebrate and value. For exogenous variables, such as Brexit for example, we will need to be vigilant and attentive. The further…