Real Madrid grabbed the top spot as the world’s richest football club for a record 12thtime with revenue last season of £665 million.
Following their fortunes on the pitch this season, Manchester United slumped from the 2017 top spot to third place with revenue of £590 million.
Spanish teams took the top two placings, with Barcelona as runners up with revenue of £611 million.
Nationally, the English Premier League has nine teams in the top 20 Football Money League rankings for 2018.
Italy has four teams, the highest being Juventus (£349.8 million), Spain and Germany each had three, with the top German team Bayern Munich (£557.4 million) and France one – Paris St Germain with revenue of £479.9 million.
Records shattered
The top 20 rankings had three newcomers – AS Roma, AC Milan and Newcastle United.
Dan Jones, partner in the Sports Business Group at Deloitte, comments: “European football remains a bull market, with annual revenue growth of almost £400 million in this year’s Football Money League. At the top, we have seen Real Madrid shatter records with the most revenue ever recorded and claim a record 12th Money League title in the process.
“Manchester United slip to third place in this year’s Money League after two years in top position, despite a return to the Champions League in 2017/18 and overall revenue growth of 2%. Further revenue growth is expected in 2018/19 and a continuation of recent on-pitch improvements will help in building a virtuous circle of football and commercial success.”
European Football’s Money League 2018
Rank (Last year) | Club | Country | 2017/18 Revenue (£m) | 2016/17 Revenue (£m) |
1 (2) | Real Madrid | Spain | 665.2 | 579.7 |
2 (3) | FC Barcelona | Spain | 611.6 | 557.1 |
3 (1) | Manchester United | England | 590.0 | 581.2 |
4 (4) | Bayern Munich | Germany | 557.4 | 505.1 |
5 (5) | Manchester City | England | 503.5 | 453.5 |
6 (7) | Paris Saint-Germain | France | 479.9 | 417.8 |
7 (9) | Liverpool | England | 455.1 | 364.5 |
8 (8) | Chelsea | England | 448.0 | 367.8 |
9 (6) | Arsenal | England | 389.1 | 419.0 |
10 (11) | Tottenham Hotspur | England | 379.4 | 308.9 |
11 (10) | Juventus | Italy | 349.8 | 348.6 |
12 (12) | Borussia Dortmund | Germany | 281.0 | 285.8 |
13 (13) | Atlético de Madrid | Spain | 269.6 | 234.2 |
14 (15) | Internazionale | Italy | 248.7 | 248.7 |
15 (n/a) | AS Roma | Italy | 221.5 | 147.6 |
16 (16) | Schalke 04 | Germany | 216.0 | 197.8 |
17 (20) | Everton | England | 188.6 | 171.2 |
18 (n/a) | AC Milan | Italy | 184.0 | 164.7 |
19 (n/a) | Newcastle United | England | 178.5 | 85.7 |
20 (17) | West Ham | England | 175.3 | 183.3 |
Source: Deloitte