The Covid-19 lockdown has come at a cost to football
When football in the United Kingdom was suspended indefinitely following the final match to be played on English soil, Liverpool vs Atletico Madrid, it represented a venture into the unknown.
Not since the Second World War had English football been brought to such a grinding halt, with matches at all levels of the game, from the Premier League down to five-a-side, suspended.
The financial impact of this suspension has now been revealed for the first time by
Business Rescue Expert, who state that Manchester City suffered the biggest loss in terms of matchday revenue, at a staggering £23.9 million.
The scale of City's loss, compared to the £17.7 million lost by rivals Manchester United, is due to the fact that Pep Guardiola's side had six home games interrupted by the behind-closed-doors rules, compared to the four home games of Arsenal, who lost out on £12 million, and Chelsea, who saw £8.6 million slip away.
The study took into account the average cost of the matchday experience for supporters, from the cost of drinks and food to the cost of matchday programmes.
In total, they found that clubs at all levels of English football lost out on £305 million worth of matchday revenue during Project Restart.
Redundancies of playing staff, backroom, administration and matchday staff has been rife in the English game since the outbreak of Covid-19, and it's believed that the very existence of a number of clubs remains in doubt due to the effect of the game's suspension.
For the full picture on how much English clubs lost due to lockdown, check out the infographic below.
