Manchester United slip from top of football's rich list as Real Madrid generate record revenues
Manchester United have lost their status as world football’s top earners, according to the latest annual money league report by Deloitte.
The club slips to third behind Real Madrid and Barcelona but are understood to blame unfavourable exchange rates rather than a lack of silverware for the apparent fall.
Madrid became the first club to generate more than 750million euros (£665.2million), Deloitte said, while Barcelona recorded 690.4million euros (£611.6m) compared with Manchester United's 666million euros (£590m).
The Premier League provided six teams in the top 10 this year, the most ever from one country. Tottenham Hotspur (£379.4m total revenue) re-entered the top 10 for the first time since 2006/07, having capitalised on playing a full season at Wembley Stadium which has seen match-day revenue increase by £26.5m (54 per cent).
The three wealthiest clubs generated more than double the aggregate revenue of the same top three clubs 10 years previously, largely thanks to the huge rise in multi-billion pound television revenue. Madrid regain their top spot for the first time in three years, with the gap between first and second being the second-highest in Money League history (€60.5m). The club's revenue increased by more than 75m euros year-on-year as they secured their third successive Champions League title.
Dan Jones, partner in the sports business group at Deloitte, said: “European football remains a bull market, with annual revenue growth of almost 450 million euros in this year’s Football Money League. At the top, we have seen Real Madrid shatter records, becoming the first club to break the three-quarters of a billion euro mark and claim a record twelfth Money League title in the process.”
United had been ranked first for the previous two years. A source at the club said: "We're not too concerned by our position in different financial league tables from year to year, as it is clear Manchester United is consistently a leading global sports brand by any measurement criteria."
Manchester City (£503.5m) consolidated their place in the top five, whilst Liverpool (£455.1m) rank seventh after their 2017/18 Champions League Final appearance contributed to impressive total revenue growth of £90.6m. Liverpool’s broadcast revenue alone, which increased £65.8m (€68.8m) to £222.6m (€251.3m) as a result of amounts received from UEFA, would be sufficient for a place in the top 15 of this year’s Money League.
Chelsea (£448m) retain eighth place whilst Arsenal (£389.1m) slip to ninth, as absence from the Champions League for the first time since 1997/1998 saw rivals outperform them financially. Everton (£188.6m) and West Ham (£175.3m) both retain their places in the top 20, with the return of Newcastle United (£178.5m) to the Premier League in 2017/18 enabling them to secure 19th place.
