Real Madrid Top Football’s Money League

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Written By Mohsen Salami

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)

ClubCountry2017/18 Revenue (£m)2016/17 Revenue (£m)
1 (2)Real MadridSpain665.2579.7
2 (3)FC BarcelonaSpain611.6557.1
3 (1)Manchester UnitedEngland590.0581.2
4 (4)Bayern MunichGermany557.4505.1
5 (5)Manchester CityEngland503.5453.5
6 (7)Paris Saint-GermainFrance479.9417.8
7 (9)LiverpoolEngland455.1364.5
8 (8)ChelseaEngland448.0367.8
9 (6)ArsenalEngland389.1419.0
10 (11)Tottenham HotspurEngland379.4308.9
11 (10)JuventusItaly349.8348.6
12 (12)Borussia DortmundGermany281.0285.8
13 (13)Atlético de MadridSpain269.6234.2
14 (15)InternazionaleItaly248.7248.7
15 (n/a)AS RomaItaly221.5147.6
16 (16)Schalke 04Germany216.0197.8
17 (20)EvertonEngland188.6171.2
18 (n/a)AC MilanItaly184.0164.7
19 (n/a)Newcastle UnitedEngland178.585.7
20 (17)West HamEngland175.3183.3

Source: Deloitte