Real Madrid top football money league as Spurs overtake City
Real Madrid is the richest football team by revenue for the seventh straight year, while revenue at Europe’s top 20 clubs has increased again despite the economic crisis affecting Europe, according to Deloitte’s European Football Money League.
Spanish champions Barcelona remain in second place with revenue of €451m euros (£378m), ahead of Manchester United who reported €367m euros (£307m). The Premier League winners were lifted by a £20m-a-season shirt sponsorship deal with AON and its appearance in last year’s Champion’s League final.
United’s failure to qualify for the group stage of the European tournament this season, will see the gap widen between them and the two Spanish clubs next year, particularly because both clubs are both able to negotiate their individual TV rights deals.
The top seven clubs remain in exactly the same positions as in the previous year, with Bayern Munich, Arsenal and Chelsea occupying the fourth, fifth and sixth spots respectively, while Internationale Milan moved up one to eighth and Liverpool fell to ninth.
Tottenham Hotspur’s run to the last eight of the Champions League last year helped lift their revenue to €181m euros (£151m), a 36% rise year-on—year, moving them ahead of Premier League rivals, Manchester City to the 11th spot.
England had the most teams in the table with six, consolidating the Premier League’s position as the most dominate financial player in world football in the Money League, followed by five from Italy, four from Germany, three from Germany and two from France.
The top 20 clubs have a combined revenue of €4.4bn euros, accounting for over a quarter of the European soccer market, according to Deloitte.