Liverpool & Man Utd among wealthiest clubs in the world - but the Premier League losing groundplaceholder image
Liverpool & Man Utd among wealthiest clubs in the world - but the Premier League losing ground | Getty Images
The new Deloitte Money League puts Manchester United and Liverpool among the world’s richest clubs - but is the Premier League losing ground?
On Thursday, financial services company Deloitte released the latest edition of their Football Money League – which ranks the 20 highest-grossing football clubs in the world in order of the revenue they generated over the previous season.
It’s an interesting chance to see which teams are raking in a fortune despite seemingly reduced fortunes in playing terms, and to look at just rapidly the biggest clubs’ turnover is increasing at the top end of the game. For instance, on average, the Top 20 clubs this year generated 50% more revenue than they did just five years ago in 2020, with matchday profits doubled. All of this is taking place while clubs further down the world’s league pyramids struggle more and more to get by – the gap between rich and poor is growing bigger at an astounding rate.
Of course, for fans of many of these clubs, it’s not only instructional but also probably a chance to find some niche bragging rights should, say, their Premier League team make more money than a rival. So which English teams made the list, and where did they all rank?
Newcastle & Aston Villa among richest clubs in the world according to Deloitte
20. West Ham United - £240m approx.
West Ham may be battling relegation, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t making a small fortune while they struggle. Still, this is apparently a hefty 14% drop on what they made in the 2023/24 season, suggesting that underperformance after the departure of David Moyes is having an effect. It’s probably also fair to say that West Ham being among the wealthiest teams in the world gives their board even fewer excuses for such poor recruitment and disappointing results – there are ‘only’ eight Premier League teams ahead of them, after all.
19. Benfica, 18. VfB Stuttgart
17. Newcastle United - £347m
Newcastle’s annual revenue has far more than doubled since the Saudi PIF took over the club. At the end of the 2020/21 campaign, they were making under £150m per year. Even in terms of the broader increase in the biggest sides’ wealth over that time period, their growth is still remarkable. With the much-complained-about PSR coming to an end this summer, it will be interesting to see how Newcastle bring their spending power to bear.
16. Juventus, 15. AC Milan
14. Aston Villa - £392m
Proof perfect of just how much money a club can earn through a single season in the Champions League, Villa’s revenue jumped 45% thanks to their top four finish in 2023/24. Like Newcastle, their income has more than doubled over the past five years and they’re currently swimming with the big boys in financial terms – which perhaps makes their recent brushes with PSR problems even more remarkable.
13. Atlético Madrid, 12. Borussia Dortmund, 11. Inter Milan
Premier League teams like Liverpool & Manchester United dominate Top 10 - but don’t take top spots
10. Chelsea - £508m
Chelsea’s income has remained pretty consistent in the post-Abramovich era despite their up-and-down results in the league, and one suspects that they’ll surge up this table again next season now that they have Champions League football once more. As we’ve pointed out before, one can’t suggest that Behdad Eghbali and Todd Boehly haven’t turned Chelsea into a very successful business. It’s whether they can become a consistent good football team that remains unproven.
9. Tottenham Hotspur - £585m
Another side who are getting richer despite recent struggles on the pitch. Tottenham’s revenue is well over 50% higher than it was five seasons ago and will presumably only go up further this season with top-tier continental competition once again on the menu. The new stadium is now generating over £130m in annual matchday revenue, never mind its enormous income from events.
8. Manchester United - £691m
Manchester United may drift further and further from their heyday with every passing year under the stewardship of the Glazers and Ineos, but they certainly know how to monetise things – United’s revenue has increased once again, albeit only by 3% this season. Will they be able to do that without any form of European competition this season? That would certainly be an impressive trick for the owners to pull off. Perhaps a few more tea ladies and museum staff will be let go to make it happen.
7. Arsenal - £716m
Perhaps the biggest financial success story of the last few years, should that be what you wish for your team to be. Arsenal ‘only’ made about £320m five years ago, so their turnover has far more than doubled in the intervening time even if the volume of incoming silverware hasn’t changed – just yet, at least. Perhaps they will finally get a Premier League title to match the size of their bank account in a few months’ time.
6. Manchester City - £722m
The run of Premier League teams continues with City, whose revenue actually dropped very slightly compared to the previous season – their financial situation seems to have remained almost entirely static for the last few years, which is reflected in the fact that they were second in this league last year. Manchester United were fourth, as well, and while the Premier League is undeniably getting richer and richer, its superclubs are actually doing so more slowly than those from other European countries…
5. Liverpool - £728m
Liverpool’s title win generated enough extra wealth to see them pip City to the title of the Premier League team with the highest income, as well. Success on and off the pitch, then, even if English football should perhaps be worried about the fact that several teams from elsewhere have rocketed ahead of them. This was a hefty 17% increase in income for Liverpool this season, suggesting a club in better fiscal health than ever before.
4. PSG, 3. Bayern Munich, 2. Barcelona, 1. Real Madrid - £1.01bn
For the second year in a row, Real topped not only this chart but also a billion pounds’ worth of revenue – proof, perhaps, of what English teams could do if they really put their mind to it. Or, perhaps, the surge in income we’re seeing from teams like PSG, Bayern and Barcelona is just evidence that from a strictly financial perspective, the hegemony such sides have over their league and the consistent success they enjoy as a result is beneficial. Maybe English football clubs are held back on an individual level because they can’t generally win the title every single year. Maybe, just maybe, that’s a good thing, and the fact that the Premier League is becoming less dominant in global financial terms is a sign of healthier competition between its clubs.
Still, the owners of the richest teams will be more keen to emulate PSG and Barcelona’s recent success than to create a healthier footballing ecosystem, and the Premier League still isn’t balanced in any meaningful sense - it simply has more ‘superteams’ than any other league, none of whom find it too easy to become dominant over the others. Should that change, then Real Madrid may need to watch their financial backs...
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