Real Madrid has surpassed Manchester City to become the top revenue-generating club in the world for the 2022-23 season, according to the Deloitte Football Money League as commercial revenue has become the primary income source for teams.
Real Madrid, currently leading for the first time since the 2017-18 season, earned a total revenue of 831 million euros ($907.78 million). They were followed by Manchester City with 826 million euros and Paris St Germain with 802 million euros. Barcelona moved up from seventh place last year to fourth, generating 800 million euros, while Manchester United slipped to fifth place with 746 million euros. Real Madrid’s revenue increased by 118 million euros compared to the previous year, with their 16% growth attributed to strong retail performance, higher stadium attendance, and recovery of sponsorship income.
Even though Manchester City lost their top position after holding it for two years, the club achieved its highest-ever revenue for a season due to their successful treble-winning campaign. This success boosted their broadcast and commercial revenues. Commercial revenue became the primary income source for clubs for the first time since 2015-16, excluding the COVID-19 impacted 2019-20 season, while broadcast revenue saw a modest 5% increase.
“A high demand for live sport is pointing towards further growth for commercial and matchday revenues, in particular,” said Tim Bridge, lead partner in Deloitte’s Sports Business Group.
“As clubs appear to no longer be able to rely on exponential broadcast revenue growth, creating a more commercially focused business model will support them to achieve greater control over their financial stability.”
Liverpool, who made a significant jump from seventh to third place in last year’s rankings, experienced the largest decline in their year-on-year rankings this year, dropping back to seventh place. This decline in revenue was also reported by Atletico Madrid and West Ham United. The number of Premier League clubs in the top 20 has decreased from 11 to 8, with Leicester City, Leeds United, and Everton being replaced by Eintracht Frankfurt, Napoli, and Olympique Marseille.
The total revenue generated by Money League clubs in 2022-23 reached a record 10.5 billion euros, marking a 14% increase from the previous year and surpassing pre-pandemic levels of 9.2 billion euros in both 2021-22 and 2018-19.
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