Manchester United still on top in the money league

THE North West’s five Premier League clubs generated revenues of nearly £1bn in 2012-13 – almost a third of all the income from the top 92 clubs in English football.

And they were responsible for a large chunk of the £2.5bn, up 7%, generated by Premier League sides – the highest of any league in Europe.

That is according to Deloitte’s annual football review which predicts this figure will grow to £3.2bn in 2013-14 thanks to new broadcast and commercial deals. But much of this revenue services players’ wages which are on the rise.

Manchester United is still on top with revenues of £363.2m, ahead of second-placed Manchester City on £271.8m, but City saw greater year-on-year growth of 18% compared to 13%.

Liverpool and Everton were placed fifth and ninth with revenues of £206m and £86m respectively – up 9% and 7%. Outside the top 10, Burnley achieved an income of £15.8m, up 32%.

But the two Manchester clubs also had the highest wage bill. Of the £1bn raised in income by the five North West sides £650m was spent on wages. Deloitte said the Premier League wage bill increased by 8% to £1.8bn giving a record wages-to-revenue ratio of 71%.

According to the report Manchester United was the most profitable side with an operating profit of £98m. In contrast Manchester City had the third highest Premiership loss of £17m, despite having more than halved the loss in 2011-12.

Dan Jones, partner in the Sports Business Group at Deloitte, said: “Once again the global appeal of the Premier League has continued to drive commercial revenue growth, particularly at the highest ranked Premier League clubs. Matchday revenue also increased by 6% with fewer unsold seats at Premier League games than ever before.”