Manchester City top Football Money League for second year in a row as Premier League clubs dominate Top 20
For the first time, Premier League clubs account for more than half of the Money League Top 20 (11 out of 20)
2023 Money League clubs reported revenues totaling €9.2bn in the 2021/22 season, an increase of +13% on the €8.2bn recorded in the 2020/21 season
For the second year in a row, Manchester City topped the Money League (€731m in total revenue), followed by Real Madrid (€714m) and Liverpool (€702m).
For the first time, the Money League also includes revenues generated by women’s teams, with average revenues of €2.4m attributable in the 2021/22 season.
In the 2021/22 season, the top 20 revenue-generating clubs in world football generated a total turnover of €9.2 billion, according to the 26th edition of the Football Money League published by Deloitte’s Sports Business Group.
The increase in total revenues, equal to +13% compared to the previous year, is due to the return of matches with open doors following the lifting of the restrictions from COVID-19, generating a significant increase in stadium revenues: from 111 million euros to 1.4 billion euros. Commercial revenues also increased by 8% compared to the previous year (from 3.5 billion euros to 3.8 billion euros), but their impact was offset by the 11% contraction (equal to 485 million euros) of revenues from TV rights compared to the TV revenues of the 2020/21 season, which however had benefited from the deferrals of revenues from the postponed 2019/20 matches.
For the second consecutive year, Manchester City took the top spot in the Money League (731 million euros in total revenue), followed by Real Madrid (714 million euros), Liverpool (702 million euros), Manchester United (689 million euros) and Paris Saint-Germain (654 million euros). For the first time in the Deloitte study, more than half of the Money League comes from just one country, with Premier League clubs making up eleven of the top 20. Five of the Premier League’s ‘big six’ clubs have seen revenues rise in euro terms by 15% or more (for a total increase of €226m), thanks to the launch of new commercial partnerships and revenue generated from unrelated events at matches, such as concerts and stadium tours*.
Tim Bridge, lead partner at Deloitte’s Sports Business Group, said: “For the first time, Premier League clubs fill the majority of positions in Deloitte’s Football Money League. Now it’s a question of whether other leagues can fill the gap, possibly by increasing the value of future international broadcasting rights, or if the Premier League is virtually untouchable, in terms of revenues.”
“The Premier League is the only one of Europe’s top five leagues to see the value of its TV rights rise under the latest renegotiation. It continues to attract millions of fans around the world and its member clubs have a bigger advantage in terms of in revenue compared to competing clubs from other nations”.
“Interest from business partners, fans and investors in the Premier League is higher than ever. While this bodes well for further growth, ongoing calls for review for greater redistribution of the English clubs’ financial wealth within the system and the impact of high living costs make it all the more important for this competition’s stakeholders to have a clear view of their priorities as administrators of top clubs.” concludes Tim Bridge.
Changes and variations for clubs
After a rapid rise in the table, with the club only breaking into the top five for the first time in 2015/16, Manchester City maintained their top position in the Money League. The club reported a record Premier League commercial revenue of €373m in 2021/22, an increase of €65m on the previous season.
Liverpool made the biggest leap in this season’s Money League, moving up four places (from seventh to third place) to reach their highest ever position. The Reds overtook Manchester United in the league table for the first time, thanks to reaching the 2022 UEFA Champions League Final, which generated additional TV rights revenue. Liverpool were also one of five clubs to record more than €100m in match-related revenues, the most to date, thanks to the return of fans to their stadiums.
Furthermore, for the first time since 2018/19, a new club has entered the top ten of the Money League: Arsenal have moved from eleventh to tenth position, mainly thanks to the significant level of matchday revenues generated. Leeds United (18th) are also in the top 20 of the Money League for the first time since the 2002/03 season and Newcastle are in the top 20 in 20th position, these clubs having higher match and commercial revenues than many other English clubs (who also benefit from major redistributions from the Premier League).
Outside the Premier League, FC Barcelona and Real Madrid have yet to recover their pre-pandemic revenue levels, with club revenues down €203m and €43m respectively compared to 2018/ 19.
FC Barcelona experienced one of the biggest drops in the standings, dropping to seventh place from fourth. This was mainly due to a 13% decrease in television revenues, partially attributable to lower performances in UEFA competitions compared to the previous year. Meanwhile, Real Madrid reported a 40% drop in match revenues compared to 2018/19, mainly due to the ongoing COVID restrictions for the 2021/22 season. If we look at the top 30, we find 16 English clubs, which represent 80% of all clubs in the Premier League. The remainder of the top 30 includes five clubs from La Liga, three from Serie A and the Bundesliga and one from Ligue 1, all of these competing in the UEFA club competitions in the 2021/22 season.
Sam Boor, director of Deloitte’s Sports Business Group, adds: “The Premier League’s financial superiority is unlikely to be called into question in the coming seasons. This is particularly evident at a time when these clubs continue to attract international investment which often, at best, they stimulate profitability over success on the pitch. Now it’s likely not a question of if, but when, all 20 Premier League clubs appear in the Money League top 30.”
The women’s teams of Money League clubs achieved average revenues of €2.4m in the 2021/22 season
For the first time, Deloitte’s Football Money League also reported i revenues generated by women’s teams of Money League clubs, with average revenues of €2.4m attributable to women’s teams in the 2021/22 season.** Barcelona’s women’s team generated the highest revenues compared to other women’s clubs in the 2023 Money League.
FC Barcelona Femení, winners of the UEFA Women’s Champions League in 2021 and finalists in 2022, achieved revenue of €7.7m in the 2021/22 season.
Manchester United recorded the second-highest income for its women’s team (€6m), followed by Manchester City (€5.1m), Paris Saint-Germain (€3.6m), Arsenal (€2m). .2 million euros) and Tottenham (2.1 million euros).
Bridge concludes: “The women’s professional game is still very close to the beginning of its journey and the revenues recorded by the major clubs at this stage suggest the significant value that women’s teams can generate in future seasons. Together with long-term strategies and geared towards growth, we also expect to see the success of the women’s game through the development of industry data analyzing women’s sport.This will enable clubs and leagues to clearly demonstrate the value of their women’s teams and the fan base they are attracting “.
*The five clubs include Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur.
** Of the 17 clubs with a current top-flight women’s squad, 15 have provided Deloitte with information on their teams’ financial operations in 2021/22. These clubs reported average revenues of €2.4m related to their women’s team.
|
Position (position last year) |
Club |
2021/22 Income (€m) (2020/21 Income) |
2021/22 Income (£m) (2020/21 Income) |
|
1 (1) |
Manchester City |
731 (644.9) |
619.1 (571.1) |
|
2 (2) |
Real Madrid |
713.8 (640.7) |
604.5 (567.3) |
|
3 (7) |
Liverpool |
701.7 (550.4) |
594.3 (487.4) |
|
4 (5) |
Manchester United |
688.6 (558) |
583.2 (494.1) |
|
5 (6) |
Paris Saint Germain |
654.2 (556.2) |
554 (492.5) |
|
6 (3) |
Bayern Munich |
653.6 (611.4) |
553.5 (541.4) |
|
7 (4) |
FC Barcelona |
638.2 (582.1) |
540.5 (515.4) |
|
8 (8) |
Chelsea |
568.3 (493.1) |
481.3 (436.6) |
|
9 (10) |
Tottenham Hotspur |
523 (406.2) |
442.8 (359.7) |
|
10 (11) |
Arsenal |
433.5 (366.5) |
367.1 (324.5) |
|
11 (9) |
Juventus |
400.6 (433.1) |
339.3 (383.5) |
|
12 (13) |
Atletico Madrid |
393.9 (332.8) |
333.6 (294.7) |
|
13 (12) |
Borussia Dortmund |
356.9 (337.6) |
302.2 (298.9) |
|
14 (14) |
International |
308.4 (330.9) |
261.2 (293) |
|
15 (16) |
West Ham United |
301.2 (221.5) |
255.1 (196.1) |
|
16 (19) |
AC Milan |
264.9 (216.3) |
224.4 (191.5) |
|
17 (15) |
Leicester City |
252.2 (255.5) |
213.6 (226.2) |
|
18 (n/a) |
Leeds United |
223.4 (190.4) |
189.2 (168.6) |
|
19 (18) |
Everton |
213.7 (218.1) |
181 (193.1) |
|
20 (n/a) |
Newcastle United |
212.3 (170.1) |
179.8 (150.6) |