The profits are actually much lower. The main reason for this is because, in order to keep the status as a "top club ", money must be spent in order to obtain the best players and coaching staff. All these payments are directly out of a clubs fixed amount of assets distributed by the club's board. These fixed assets come straight out of the revenue made during the fiscal year. In 2009, Real Madrid spent 226 million Euros in the purchasing of Cristiano Ronaldo, Maka, Karim Benzema, Kaka, and Raul Albiol. Their revenue was cut in half just in paying transfer fees to other clubs. A transfer fee is essentially a fee to another club that allows for the transfer of a player's registration. However, a new contract must be made for those players separate from the transfer fee paid to the players' former clubs. .
The spending does not stop there; each player must be relocated from their former club's town to the town of their new club. This could mean moving countries. It is the club's responsibility to help the player adjust. Real Madrid learned its lesson after failing to help Nicolas Anelka adjust after signing him for $35 million in 1999. This resulted in his poor performance and inability to bond with his new team. Soon after, the club started to pay for relocation consultants for recently transferred players. However, some other clubs pay a significant amount on relocation aid. AC Milan provides its players with a fully furnished house, a luxury car of the player's choice, and a consultant to help the player and his family adjust to the new environment. After factoring in transfer fees, old and new player contracts, relocation aid, and the advertising, a club is lucky to break even.
Then there is the issue of overvaluing players. It's typical for a player to be overvalued in two ways: nationality, or a recent Euro or World Cup championship. Imagine trying to hire a French cook at a restaurant, it would cost twice as much as an American cook even if they had the same skill level.