Manchester United top of the world revenue league – just
Manchester United have narrowly pipped Real Madrid to retain their position as the highest revenue generating football club in the world.
The Red Devils retain top spot of the Deloitte Money League, the 10th time they have held the title, with revenue of £581m (€676m).
United’s UEFA Europa League victory was critical to them topping the Money League, with the differentiating impact of participation and success in UEFA competitions more crucial than ever across the top 20.
Real Madrid’s UEFA Champions League and domestic title winning season saw their revenue grow by £49m (€54.5m) but ultimately this was only sufficient for second place in the Money League, missing out on top spot by the narrowest ever margin £1.5m (€1.7m).
Barcelona complete the top three, with Bayern Munich and Manchester City making up the top five.
A record 10 English clubs feature in the top 20, generating a total revenue of £3.5bn (€3.8bn), helped by the fact that 2016/17 was the first season of the current record Premier League broadcast rights deal.
The 20 highest earning football clubs in the world generated £6.9bn (€7.9bn) of revenue in 2016/17, an increase of 6% on the previous year.
Dan Jones, partner in the Sports Business Group at Deloitte, said: “European football continues to flourish financially, with almost half a billion Euro of revenue growth for the top 20 Money League clubs.
“And at the top, we’ve seen the closest ever battle for the top spot, with Manchester United pipping Real Madrid to retain their title of the highest revenue generating club in the world. United generated £581m in 2016/17.
“United’s ability to retain first position is all the more impressive against the backdrop of the weakened Pound against the Euro, and with both Real Madrid and FC Barcelona forecasting further revenue growth in 2017/18, the battle at the top will likely come down to on-pitch performance again next year.
“With all three clubs through to the Round of 16 of the UEFA Champions League, it may be as simple as the club that goes furthest in the competition will have the best chance of topping the Money League next year.”
Full table
|
Position (last year’s position) |
Club | 2016/17 Revenue (€m) (2015/16 Revenue) | 2016/17 Revenue (£m) (2015/16 Revenue) |
| 1 (1) | Manchester United | 676.3 (689) | 581.2 (515.3) |
| 2 (3) | Real Madrid | 674.6 (620.1) | 579.7 (463.8) |
| 3 (2) | FC Barcelona | 648.3 (620.2) | 557.1 (463.8) |
| 4 (4) | Bayern Munich | 587.8 (592) | 505.1 (442.7) |
| 5 (5) | Manchester City | 527.7 (524.9) | 453.5 (392.6) |
| 6 (7) | Arsenal | 487.6 (468.5) | 419 (350.4) |
| 7 (6) | Paris Saint-Germain | 486.2 (520.9) | 417.8 (389.6) |
| 8 (8) | Chelsea | 428 (447.4) | 367.8 (334.6) |
| 9 (9) | Liverpool | 424.2 (403.8) | 364.5 (302) |
| 10 (10) | Juventus | 405.7 (338.9) | 348.6 (253.5) |
| 11 (12) | Tottenham Hotspur | 355.6 (279.7) | 305.6 (209.2) |
| 12 (11) | Borussia Dortmund | 332.6 (283.9) | 285.8 (212.3) |
| 13 (13) | Atlético de Madrid | 272.5 (228.6) | 234.2 (171) |
| 14 (20) | Leicester City | 271.1 (172.1) | 233 (128.7) |
| 15 (19) | Internazionale | 262.1 (179.2) | 225.2 (134) |
| 16 (14) | Schalke 04 | 230.2 (224.5) | 197.8 (167.9) |
| 17 (18) | West Ham United | 213.3 (192.3) | 183.3 (143.8) |
| 18 (n/a) | Southampton | 212.1 (166.2) | 182.3 (124.3) |
| 19 (n/a) | Napoli | 200.7 (144.2) | 172.5 (107.8) |
| 20 (n/a) | Everton | 199.2 (162.5) | 171.2 (121.5) |
