Football is the beautiful game, but it's also a business for the top clubs in the world. Making money is vital for their survival and success. There are a number of different avenues to generate income, such as player sales, match tickets and television income. Another area to bring cash in is selling club-branded merchandise and football kits.
With the amount of money involved at the top of football right now, some sides have benefitted greatly from their large, passionate fanbases who have bought their football shirts to wear proudly. A recent report from Transfermarkt has now revealed the 20 football teams in Europe who made the most money strictly from kit and merchandise sales throughout the 2023/24 season and the numbers are quite staggering.
20 Roma
€27m
Lukaku of AS Roma waves to fans
Coming in at 20th, Roma made €27m throughout the 2023/24 campaign from merchandise and kit sales alone. Whether the arrival of a global star in Romelu Lukaku had a positive impact on their sales or not, it was a solid return for the Italian club.
The impressive figures didn't replicate the form on the pitch, though. Roma had a tough campaign which saw Jose Mourinho relieved of his duties as manager, a sixth-place finish in Serie A and a quarter-finals exit in the Coppa Italia. With that said, they did reach the semi-finals of the Europa League. So, that's something, at least.
19 Ajax
€33m
jordan henderon ajax
It's been a rough few years for Ajax, who have fallen well below their usual lofty standards in the Eredivisie. Last season in particular was a poor one for the club and they finished fifth in the league and failed to even get beyond the Europa League group stage. It's vastly different to the success they've had over the years.
Their struggles on the pitch, though, don't seem to have harmed their popularity and no Dutch club made more money from merchandise and kit sales throughout 2023/24 than Ajax did. They brought home €33m over the course of the campaign, a very impressive number.
18 Besiktas
€34m
Semih Kilicsoy Besiktas
While Galatasaray and Fenerbahce are the most famous clubs in Turkey and attract most of the major stars, Besiktas have their own sizeable fan base as proven by the fact they generated €34m from merchandise and kit sales throughout the 2023/24 season. Things haven't been great on the pitch for a while now for Besiktas, but the arrival of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer could potentially be changing that.
The former Manchester United boss took over at the club midway through the 2024/25 campaign and he's hit the ground running. Steering them on an impressive run following his appointment and they've climbed back up to fifth in the Turkish Super Lig. Not bad at all and if they continue heading in the right direction, they might make some more fans and even more money going forward.
17 Celtic
€35m
Kyogo Furuhashi - Celtic
The most popular team in Scotland right now, Celtic have been a force to be reckoned with in the country for years now. For the longest time, they were in a fierce tug of war for control of Scotland with Rangers, but after their rivals were relegated to the third tier of Scottish football and forced to rebuild from the bottom, they've been firmly in control.
Aside from the 2020/21 campaign, the Hoops have won 12 of the last 13 Scottish Premiership titles and with 54 league trophies in their cabinet, it seems inevitable that they will overtake Rangers' current record of 55. As a result of their success, they've got a huge fanbase who spent €35m on merchandise and kit sales last season.
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16 Inter Milan
€46m
Nicolo Barella and Lautaro Martinez in action for Inter Milan
The second Italian club on this list, Inter Milan might not be quite as popular as their local rivals (more on them later), but they've still amassed a sizeable following over the years and are one of the biggest clubs in Italy. The 2023/24 campaign was a successful one for the side, winning the Serie A title for the 20th time.
The likes of Lautaro Martinez and Nico Barella are huge fan favourites and their contributions undoubtedly played a part in Inter raking in almost €50m when it came to merchandise and kit sales. Despite winning one more league title than their rivals, though, they narrowly trail them here.
15 AC Milan
€59m
Rafael Leao in action for AC Milan
They might not have lifted the Serie A title last season, but AC Milan can boast to having made more money from their merchandise and kit sales than their local rivals Inter did. The San Siro club has played host to some incredible moments over the years and has had some of football's all-time greats on their books at one time or another.
It's helped build a fanbase that stretches far beyond Italy and the club has fans scattered all over the globe. As a result, it's not too surprising to see that they brought home close to €60m in merchandise and kit sales alone last season.
14 Fenerbahce
€69m
Fenerbahce celebrate scoring against Besiktas (2)
As already mentioned, Fenerbahce are considered one of the two biggest teams in Turkey and are regularly fighting Galatasaray for bragging rights at the top of the country. With Jose Mourinho now in charge, the club have some added star power in the hot seat and his arrival has brought more eyes to the side.
Last season, merchandise and kit sales alone made them €69m and it was a massive source of extra income for the club. The Turkish side haven't lifted the Turkish Super Lig since 2014, but have still won the division (28) more times than anyone else in history. It's easy to see why they have such a passionate fanbase.
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13 Borussia Dortmund
€72m
dortmund
The last couple of years haven't been kind to Borussia Dortmund. After finishing level on points with Bayern Munich during the 2022/23 campaign and losing out on the Bundesliga title by goal difference, they've taken a huge step back on the pitch. Last season, they finished fifth in the table and now, they're currently sitting 10th in the German top division. It's a mighty fall from grace from the club usually considered the second best team in the country.
Despite their shortcomings, though, they are still very popular with fans and made over €70m in merchandise and kit sales during the 2023/24 campaign.
12 Juventus
€74m
Juventus (1)
It's been a while since Juventus were considered the best team in Italy. After a period of dominance saw the Old Lady win nine straight Serie A titles between 2012 and 2020, they've failed to get their hands on the trophy since and it's seen them fall behind the likes of Inter, AC Milan and even Napoli on the pitch.
Despite their poor form, there's no denying that they're still the biggest team in the country and their fanbase is testament to that. Despite finishing third and 23 points behind Inter in first place in the 2023/24 campaign, Juventus still brought in more money in merchandise and kit sales than any other side in Italy at €74m.
11 Manchester City
€76m
Phil Foden scores for Manchester City
The first English club on this list and ironically the one who's been undeniably the best over the last few years, Manchester City have been slowly building their fanbase through years of dominance in the Premier League. Considered a midtable side as recently as 2008, their big money takeover has led the club to unprecedented levels of success.
They've still got a way to go before they catch up with the rest of the big six in England's top tier, though. Last season, as they won their record-breaking fourth straight Premier League title, they made €76m from merchandise and kit sales.
10 PSG
€81m
Kylian Mbappe playing for PSG in the 2023/24 campaign
With stars like Neymar, Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe calling Paris Saint-Germain home at some point over the last few years, it's no surprise that the dominant French club have built a big fanbase all over the globe. They've dominated Ligue 1 for years and while only Mbappe remained from their superstar trio during the 2023/24 campaign, that didn't hurt their merchandise sales.
The Ligue 1 champions raked in €81m last season and while they are now also without the aforementioned Mbappe, who joined Real Madrid last summer, they're still a very good team. With the likes of Ousmane Dembele, one of the frontrunners for the Ballon d'Or award according to Thierry Henry, and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia shining in Paris right now, there's no reason to suggest that their fanbase will decrease.
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9 Galatasaray
€85m
Mauro Icardi celebrating for Galatasaray.
The most popular team in Turkey, Galatasaray have lifted the Turkish Super Lig four times in the last seven seasons and with 25 league titles in total, they're beginning to catch up to Fenerbahce's record of 28 and could overtake them in the near future. The last few years have seen Galatasaray bringing some very recognisable names to the club, such as Mauro Icardi and Hakim Ziyech.
That might have played a part in their impressive kit sales last time out, making €85m over the course of the 2023/24 campaign. With the arrivals of Alvaro Morata and Victor Osimhen on loan this time around, though, that number might even continue to rise this year.
8 Chelsea
€95m
Cole Palmer and Conor Gallagher at Chelsea.
It's been a rough stretch for Chelsea over the last few years. The Blues have struggled on the pitch despite spending over £1b following Todd Boehly's arrival at Stamford Bridge. They sheer amount of players that have come through the doors recently is quite absurd and it hasn't helped.
With that said, Cole Palmer has been the major success story for the side during their rough patch and he's quickly become a fan favourite. They're still worlds away from the level they were operating at during the 2000s and 2010s, but their fanbase is still solid and they made €95m in kit sales last year despite being a tough watch.
7 Tottenham Hotspur
€96m
Tottenham player James Maddison
Narrowly ahead of Chelsea is one of their London rivals in Tottenham Hotspur. During Ange Postecoglou's debut campaign, things started very promisingly and the arrival of James Maddison added some much-needed star power after Harry Kane departed shortly before the 2023/24 season got underway.
Despite losing their greatest player ever, the club's fans were clearly still invested and they spent a total of €96m on kit sales and merchandise throughout the year. Things have been poor this time around and Spurs are edging dangerously close to a midtable finish and it's unclear whether that will impact their sales going forward.
6 Arsenal
€120m
Declan Rice celebrates scoring for Arsenal vs Bournemouth
There's a significant jump now, but next up is Spurs' greatest rival in Arsenal, who generated €120m in kit sales and merchandise sales throughout the 2023/24 campaign. Under Mikel Arteta, the Gunners are competing at the top of the Premier League for the first time in quite a while and it's clearly had a positive impact on the fanbase.
The likes of Declan Rice and Kai Havertz have come to the Emirates in recent years and while they've not got their hands on the Premier League title under Arteta, they've become one of the best teams in England again and their fans are showing up and proudly representing as a result.
5 Manchester United
€146m
Manchester United players
Manchester United have been a total disaster on and off the pitch for quite some time now. The club seems to be in an endless state of turmoil and the arrival of Sir Jim Ratcliffe and INEOS hasn't helped turn the tide at all. They seem to be struggling financially, with multiple budget cuts taking place across multiple areas of the club recently.
Despite being poor for a while, the fans are still as passionate as ever and only one team in the Premier League made more money in terms of kit and merchandise sales last season than the Red Devils did. No matter how tough things get, they're still one of the biggest clubs in the world.
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4 Liverpool
€146m
Mohamed Salah Trent Alexander-Arnold Liverpool
No Premier League team made more money via kit sales and merchandise sales during the 2023/24 campaign than Liverpool did and considering how good they were for most of the season, it makes a lot of sense. In what was Jurgen Klopp's final year in charge of the club, they were on course for a historic quadruple before things fell apart towards the end of the campaign.
Still, the Reds are known for their incredibly passionate fanbase and with supporters stretching all over the globe, it's not surprising that they're making serious money via this avenue. Currently in Arne Slot's first ever season in charge, Liverpool have looked dominant and there's a strong chance they could at least win a domestic double this time around, so don't be shocked if they're selling even more shirts this time around.
3 Barcelona
€171m
Jules Kounde (Barcelona)
One of the kingpins of La Liga, Barcelona have been one of the biggest and most well-supported clubs all over the world for decades and that hasn't changed despite some less than stellar years recently. The departure of Lionel Messi could have been a disaster for their stature in football, but it hasn't harmed them too strongly and they've maintained their fanbase without him.
This year, the club have turned things around under Hansi Flick, but the 2023/24 campaign wasn't a great one by any means. The emergence of Lamine Yamal made for a great story, though, and the club continued to make a massive amount of money from kit sales. Not bad at all.
2 Bayern Munich
€171m
MixCollage-23-Aug-2024-01-45-PM-7712
Bayern Munich have dominated German football for a very long time. Even in the instances where they don't end up winning the Bundesliga title, it feels as though it's only a matter of time before they get their hands on the gold once again. In terms of fanbases, they dwarf everyone else in Germany and that's only more apparent when looking at the amount of money they make via kit sales and merchandise.
Borussia Dortmund are the only other German team who even made it into the top 20 teams, but they still made almost €100m less than the Bavarian giants. With star power like Harry Kane on the books, it's hardly surprising that fans are so desperate to wear the club's colours.
1 Real Madrid
€196m
Real Madrid celebrate Barcelona victory
There's no bigger football team on the planet than Real Madrid. Los Blancos are truly a superpower in the sport and have millions of fans all over the globe. They made close to €200m on kit and merchandise sales alone last time out which is an incredible amount of money and offers an insight into how they're always able to splash the cash on some of the brightest names in football.
The arrival of Jude Bellingham last season was massive for Madrid and certainly helped on the pitch and maybe financially too. This time around, they've added Kylian Mbappe and it stands to reason that they might be selling even more kits this season which is quite absurd.
All statistics courtesy of Transfermarkt and accurate as of 15/03/2025