•Real Madrid President Florentino Perez . (Photo by JAVIER SORIANO / AFP)

Spanish giants Real Madrid said Tuesday they generated a record 1.221 billion euros ($1.39 billion) in revenue in the 2025/2026 season, despite failing to win a trophy.

“Operating revenue, excluding income from player transfers, reached €1.221 billion, 3.1 percent more than in the previous financial year,” said Los Blancos in a statement.

“Real Madrid has therefore exceeded the €1.2 billion mark for the first time, a figure that no other sports organisation in the world has achieved to date, consolidating the club’s position as the revenue leader in the sports industry.”

Madrid said they made 26 million euros ($30m) profit after tax, up by 8 percent on the earnings from 2024/25.

The club’s strong financial showing was boosted by an increase in income from their renovated Santiago Bernabeu stadium, up by 11 percent to 363 million euros ($413m), along with new sponsorships.

• Gamblers watch sports on televisions at Monmouth Park Sports Book by William Hill, shortly after the opening of the first day of legal betting on sports in Oceanport, New Jersey, U.S., credit: Reuters

DraftKings, FanDuel and other online sports betting companies have ramped up election spending on the U.S. midterms to at least $72 million so far, the latest campaign election data shows, as prediction markets like Kalshi and Polymarket bring fresh scrutiny — and competition — to online betting.

Reuters reported that the lucrative ‌U.S. online sports gambling industry is confronting competition from what some see as a direct threat from a new breed of gambling across prediction markets, which the administration of President Donald Trump has embraced.

The industry has become the third-largest corporate donor in the U.S. midterms behind crypto and technology, corporate watchdog Public Citizen estimates, pushing to get candidates elected to office who it hopes will be sympathetic to its issues.

Online sports betting books DraftKings, FanDuel, Fanatics and UK-based bet365 have poured their money into Win for America, a so-called super political action committee (PAC) that has directed its funds into two affiliate PACs targeting Democratic and Republican state races: American Future and the American Conservative Fund, respectively.

Super PACs are U.S. political committees that can accept unlimited donations from corporations ⁠and individuals and spend unlimited sums supporting specific candidates, but they cannot coordinate directly with campaigns or donate directly to them.

Win for America launched late last year, according to Public Citizen, and such spending levels are unprecedented for the industry.

• FIFA President Gianni Infantino

FIFA plans to create a new commercial subsidiary valued at $20 billion, world soccer’s governing body said on Tuesday, as it seeks backing from its 211 member associations for the proposal in a move already criticised by UEFA.

The ambitious plan would ‌see FIFA establish FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE), a wholly-owned subsidiary consolidating the organisation’s commercial and event operations.

FIFA said it would retain sole control as well as “exclusive authority” over football governance, competitions, the match calendar and all regulatory and sporting decisions.

Under the proposal, FIFA would invite external investors to purchase minority, non-controlling stakes in FFE to raise up to $4.2 billion.

FIFA is one of the world’s wealthiest sporting organisations, generating billions of dollars in revenue, largely from broadcasting rights, sponsorship and other commercial deals linked to the World Cup.

Source: Reuters