In the most recent Deloitte Football Money League, three prominent English clubs fell while teams in Europe all made progress.
Liverpool saw the largest decline of any top-20 team, going from third to seventh place, despite a minor decline in income from £594.3 million to £593.8 million.
According to Deloitte, this is a result of Jurgen Klopp’s team’s on-field struggles during the previous campaign, which saw them finish fifth in the Premier League and lose in the round of sixteen of the Champions League.
Manchester United, which saw an increase in revenue, dropped from fourth on the list to fifth this year.
Man City recorded record Premier League earnings, yet they were overtaken by Real Madrid and fell to second place.
Tottenham moved up one spot to eighth place by trading places with Chelsea, making them the highest-ranked London club.
Arsenal maintained their position at number ten, while the Blues were in ninth.
Madrid won the 2022–2023 season with revenue of £723 million, while Paris Saint–Germain made their first appearance in the top three. Barcelona were up three places to eighth with revenue of £696m.
The Money League does not examine operating expenses; instead, it examines revenue data from teams’ 2022–2023 annual accounts.
Lead partner in Deloitte’s Sports Business Group Tim Bridge said to the PA news agency: “Real Madrid and Barcelona are renovating their stadiums at this particular moment, and they are taking steps to control a larger portion of their operations, especially merchandising and licencing, so those revenue figures are a direct result of those changes they have made to their business model.”
“When considering the Premier League as a whole, we can’t say with 100% certainty that the major domestic growth in media rights is over, but we can say that single-figure percentage growth is the likely outcome in that domestic market in the absence of significant competition entering that market. Consequently, the emphasis is on what can be accomplished in the global market.
The ten or eleven Premier League clubs that have participated in the Money League have always been supported by the fact that their substantial payouts have increased due to the expansion of TV rights. Premier League rights have somewhat plateaued as other leagues have caught up.
According to Deloitte, the top 20 teams made a total of £9 billion, up 14% from the previous campaign.
Barcelona Femeni’s revenue increased by 74% to £11.6 million, making them the highest-earning women’s club globally.
