EPL revenue rose by 12 per cent to a record £5.5BILLION in the 2021-22 season

The Premier League showed off its financial power in football after figures showed combined club revenue rose by 12 per cent in the 2021-22 season to a record £5.5billion.

The English top flight remains far ahead of its European rivals, the data from Deloitte shows, with LaLiga - its nearest challenger - only able to muster around half of their total with £2.8bn, despite a rise in revenue of 11 per cent.

Commercial revenue also reached an all-time high for the Premier League - up £48million to £319m, while the increase of wage growth was outpaced by the rise in revenue for the second straight season.

The strong performance from Premier League clubs was attributed to record matchday revenue at £1.1bn after the return of fans to stadiums following the Covid shutdown during the pandemic.

Its impressive display also helped drive revenue in the 'big five' leagues in Europe too, the report adds, with the Bundesliga, LaLiga Serie A and Ligue 1's combined revenue up by 10 per cent to £14.7bn.

However, the outlook was less positive for the Championship.

Despite reporting a total revenue of £676m, an increase of 13 per cent, wages remained higher than that number - with their net debt called 'significant' as a number of clubs increased their loans to cope with the fallout of Covid.

Tim Bridge, of Deloitte, said the report showed off how European clubs had come back from a tough time during the pandemic.

'Topline figures show that European football has emerged resiliently from its most challenging period to date.

'Following the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions, fans' pent-up demand gave rise to record matchday and commercial revenues across Europe.

'However, with operating profits declining by €1.8bn since 2018/19, it's clear that overall recovery is still a work in progress.'

On the Championship figures, he claimed clubs in the second tier were operating beyond their means, with some Premier League teams 'overstretching' financially to support them.

'The net debt of Championship clubs remains significant, with a vast number of clubs increasing their loans over the 2021/22 season.

'The glamour of Premier League promotion is spearheading the continual drive for investment in Championship clubs, often in an unsustainable manner, driving some clubs to overstretch financially.

'It is critical that long-term decisions are now made by clubs' owners, and with the introduction of the Independent Regulator, focus will turn to improving the distribution mechanism of revenues between the leagues and clubs.

'This must be accompanied by appropriate governance and financial controls to ensure that any proposed solution is suitable and sustainable.'