'Big five' rack up record revenues

The "big five" European leagues enjoyed record revenues in the 2017-18 season as a result of new broadcasting deals in Germany and growth in UEFA distributions to English clubs, according to data released by Deloitte on Thursday.

The combined revenue of the five major leagues - in England, Spain, Germany, Italy and France - was 15.6 billion euros ($17.40 billion), representing a six percent increase from the previous season.

The 28th Annual Review of Football Finance said the European soccer market is now worth a record 28.4 billion euros, which was also driven by last year's World Cup in Russia.