German soccer leagues crack $5 billion for revenue

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FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) German professional soccer is booming with record revenue across two divisions of just over 4 billion euros ($5 billion) last season, the 13th straight there has been an increase.

The German football league (DFL) says revenue among the 36 teams in the top two tiers increased by 4.2 percent from the season before, with 14 of the 18 top-flight Bundesliga clubs generating revenue of more than 100 million euros.

The Bundesliga alone generated 3.37 billion euros, up from 3.24 billion in 2015-16, while the second division set a record of 635.2 million euros, up 4.4 percent on the season before.

DFL chief Christian Seifert says, ''We are the league with the second highest turnover in the world. In sum, the league is totally healthy.''

Of the 18 top-flight clubs, only Hertha Berlin and Hamburger SV made a loss last season.

Altogether, Bundesliga clubs posted earnings after taxes of 150 million euros, down from 206 million euros the season before.