The money league: No English clubs in the top four

As at the beginning of every new year, it is time to take stock of the one behind us. The renowned multinational company Deloitte from London has produced a professional analysis of football club revenues worldwide for the 2024/25 season and presented it to the public under the working title “Football Money League 2026.” The first conclusion is that the Top 20 clubs on the planet generated a combined revenue of 12.4 billion euros, which is a record figure and the first of its kind in the history of football. This represents an 11 percent increase compared to the previous season. Of that amount, 2.4 billion came from matchday revenue, 4.7 billion from broadcasting rights, and 5.3 billion euros from commercial revenue.

Real Madrid would not be the biggest club in the world if it were not at the head of the column. After generating one billion in revenue in the 2023/24 season, they have now reached almost 1.2 billion euros, which is also a record for a football club at the global level. Of that sum, 594 million flowed into Los Blancos’ coffers from commercial activities, primarily through lucrative sponsorships and the sale of merchandise bearing the club crest. Interestingly, that figure alone would be enough to place Real Madrid in the Top 10 clubs by total revenue last season.

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Second place is occupied by Barcelona, which generated a total of 974.8 million euros. Third is Bayern Munich with 860.6 million, followed by Paris Saint-Germain (837.0 million), Liverpool (836.1 million), Manchester City (829.3 million), Arsenal (821.7 million), Manchester United (793.1 million), Tottenham (672.6 million), Chelsea (584.1 million), Inter (537.5 million), Borussia Dortmund (531.3 million), Atletico Madrid (454.5 million), Aston Villa (450.2 million), Milan (410.4 million), Juventus (401.7 million), Newcastle (398.4 million), Stuttgart (296.3 million), Benfica (283.4 million), and West Ham (276.0 million) in 20th place.

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Barcelona returned to second place for the first time since the 2019/20 season, after nearly suffering a financial collapse due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. The Catalan giant recorded revenues about 27 percent higher than in the 2023/24 campaign. The biggest revenue driver was the introduction of licenses for personalized seats, which brought in 70 million euros. Bayern finished third this year, climbing two positions compared to a year earlier. Paris Saint-Germain remained fourth, and for the first time since this ranking has been kept, there is no English club in the Top 4. Manchester City fell from second to sixth place after suffering a significant drop in revenue compared to the 2023/24 season. Liverpool benefited the most, primarily thanks to a 34 percent increase in broadcasting revenue and an additional seven percent rise in commercial income. Manchester United dropped to eighth place. Although they reported combined ticketing and commercial revenue 75 million higher than last year, United suffered a 52 million euros decrease in income from television rights.

Benfica broke into the Top 20 for the first time in 20 years and became the first club outside the “Big Five” leagues since Zenit in the 2020/21 season to appear on the list. Stuttgart also entered for the first time since the 2009/10 season, and for the first time in four years only one French club is among the Top 20. For the third year in a row, commercial revenue represented the largest slice of the pie, with clubs generating an average of 265 million through this channel. A year earlier, the average stood at 244 million euros. The main reasons for the increase were improved retail performance, higher sponsorship income, and generally greater club activity on non-matchdays. Matchday revenue rose by 16 percent compared to last year, while broadcasting income increased by 10 percent.

The importance of broadcasting revenue is most clearly seen among clubs ranked from 11th to 20th place, where it accounts for nearly half of total income. One of the biggest drivers over the past year was the introduction of the new format of the FIFA Club World Cup. Ten clubs from the list participated in the tournament and experienced an increase in revenue of around 17 percent. Additional expansion of the three main European club competitions also boosted revenues. Looking at domestic leagues, Serie A and Ligue 1 faced certain difficulties, as new broadcasting contracts were signed last season. In Serie A, the value of the live and delayed broadcast rights contract fell by three percent, while in Ligue 1 it dropped by as much as 20 percent. The reason was the mutual termination of the contract with the DAZN platform, which included eight broadcasts per weekend. As a result, the league launched a direct-to-consumer model for the 2025/26 season. This decision will have a negative impact on Ligue 1 revenues, and it remains to be seen what the long-term effect will be.

LA LIGA - MATCHDAY 21

Friday

23.00: (2.45) Levante (3.30) Elche (2.95)

Saturday

16.00: (2.20) Rayo Vallecano (3.25) Osasuna (3.80)

18.15: (2.45) Valencia (3.30) Espanyol (3.20)

20.30: (2.95) Sevilla (3.20) Ath.Bilbao (2.65)

23.00: (3.45) Villareal (4.00) Real Madrid (2.05)

Sunday

16.00: (1.32) Atl.Madrid (5.10) Mallorca (10.0)

18.15: (1.12) Barcelona (12.0) Oviedo (19.0)

20.30: (2.05) Sociedad (3.50) Celta (3.90)

23.00: (2.90) Alaves (3.15) Betis (2.55)

***odds are subject to change***