Exploding personnel costs: How risky is Frankfurt's growth strategy?
On Thursday, Eintracht Frankfurt's CFO Julien Zamberk presented the financial figures for the 2024/25 season. While a new record turnover was narrowly missed, personnel costs rose by over 25 percent to almost 180 million euros.
A team brimming with talent and class: Ritsu Doan, Can Uzun, and Jonathan Burkardt cost over €50 million in transfer fees. IMAGO/Sven Simon
A year ago, Oliver Frankenbach presented a record turnover of €390.5 million for the 2023/24 season upon his departure as CFO of Eintracht Frankfurt Fußball AG. This Thursday, his successor, Julien Zamberk, presented the figures for the 2024/25 season. With revenues of €389.1 million, Eintracht Frankfurt narrowly missed a new record result.
Transfer revenues as a revenue driverThe main revenue driver was once again transfer income, which, although it decreased from €143.2 million to €118.6 million, remained at a very high level. Media rights generated €107.9 million, followed by: sponsorship and marketing (€75.8 million), match operations (€57.8 million), merchandising (€23.5 million), and other sources (€5.4 million).
Despite these exceptionally positive figures, financial debt rose from €68.2 million to €71.8 million; the financial year ended with a net loss of €8.3 million. However, this is even less than originally projected.
The consolidated financial statements for the 2023/24 financial year state: "For the 2024/2025 season, the Executive Board is planning for revenues of approximately €283 million and a net loss of approximately -€40 million. The parent company is taking a calculable risk, as it has sufficient options for action in the near and medium term. In the short term, there are opportunities for sporting success in the remainder of the season."
The strategy paid off with a third-place finish, qualification for the Champions League, and the sale of Omar Marmoush (Manchester City, €75 million) during the winter break. Hugo Ekitiké (Liverpool, €88 million), who only transferred in July, is included in the current season's financial statements. "We can temporarily absorb an annual loss of this magnitude using equity," says Zamberk. Thanks to the €25.7 million capital increase completed in May 2025, equity was raised from €51.7 million to €69 million. Zamberk is aiming for €100 million in equity in the long term.
Personnel costs rise to 177.3 million eurosThe skyrocketing personnel costs, which rose by 25.4 percent to €177.3 million, are causing a stir. Zamberk attributes this primarily to the bonuses paid for qualifying for the Champions League and reaching the Europa League quarterfinals. "Without reaching the Champions League, we would have generated a surplus in the 2024/25 season," the board member explains. This makes it clear: the bonuses for qualifying for the Champions League exceed the annual loss (€8.3 million). Zamberk declined to reveal what the personnel costs would have been without these performance bonuses.
To put the salaries into perspective: When Frankfurt last played in the Champions League in 2022/23, after winning the Europa League and reaching the round of 16 and the DFB Cup final, their personnel costs amounted to €119.6 million. The fact that €57.7 million more is being paid in salaries just two years later is quite surprising from an outsider's point of view.
According to kicker, executive board salaries alone amounted to approximately ten million euros in 2024/25. The balance sheet for the 2023/24 financial year showed around three million euros less: "A total of 5,995 thousand euros in compensation was granted to the members of the executive board during the reporting period. In addition, a provision of 1,100 thousand euros was made for variable executive board compensation." However, significantly more money flowed to player agents. According to DFL financial figures, Eintracht Frankfurt paid a total of 24.09 million euros to agents in the 2023/24 financial year alone. More recent figures for the past season are not yet available.
It's difficult to assess the level of risk inherent in Eintracht Frankfurt's growth strategy, as the proportion of performance bonuses within the high personnel costs is unknown. However, Zamberk says: "If sporting success eludes us, which we certainly hope won't happen, then expenses will decrease significantly." Last season, just over 80 percent of the football club's personnel costs were attributable to the sporting side. In 2023/24, this figure was 77.5 percent (€109.6 million).
However, one or two seasons without international football would likely have a significant impact on the club. After all, even with the revenue from European competitions, Eintracht Frankfurt relies on transfer income to avoid permanently falling into the red. It's obvious that there are too many highly paid reserve players in the squad (Batshuayi, Buta, Dahoud, Wahi).
Zamberk, however, sees no overall cause for concern and points to the significantly increased revenue potential of the squad in recent years: "We were able to increase our squad value again. In our estimation, the revenue potential is now over €400 million." In 2022/23, it was still €159 million. The crux of the matter is that if sporting success is lacking, the revenue potential shrinks, while the pressure to sell increases. Former clubs and agents also often receive a percentage of transfer fees. There are virtually no limits to the ingenuity involved in contract negotiations...
The successes of recent years, however, confirm the club's approach. "Every time we invest a euro in a player, we are able to double or triple that euro," says Zamberk. He adds, however, the caveat: "Of course, this is initially just a theoretical value."
The 37-year-old emphasized his "great trust" in sporting director Markus Krösche and explained: "Markus works very conscientiously. We know perfectly well that we have to stay within our current salary range. The comparison to the Champions League season two years ago isn't entirely accurate, because salaries and our squad have evolved. We certainly had a very good squad two years ago as well. But I think it's undeniable that we've been able to gradually improve our sporting quality over the past few years. This goes hand in hand with market-appropriate salaries."
