Real Madrid crowned the richest club in the world in Deloitte Money League

Robin Bairner

• 25 Jan 2024 07:03 GMT
• 3 min read

Real Madrid have climbed back to the top of the Deloitte Money League ahead of Manchester City, with the Spanish side once again boasting the biggest revenue in football.

Los Blancos earned a total of €831.4 million during the 2022/23 season, edging City into second place, despite Pep Guardiola’s side winning a historic treble.

PSG come in third, marginally ahead of Barcelona, with Manchester United rounding out the top five.

Interestingly, the number of Premier League clubs in the top 20 has shrunk by three, with Eintracht Frankfurt, Napoli and Marseille edging themselves into this elite band of clubs.

England’s top flight remains the dominant force in the world game, with eight teams in the leading 20 of the Deloitte Money League, including Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea.

Madrid back on top

Real Madrid are top of the Deloitte Money League for the first time since 2017/18 after strong retail performance saw their revenues leap by €118m last season, despite a relatively disappointing on-field performance.

The Spaniards were eclipsed in LaLiga by Barcelona and were well beaten in the Champions League semi-final by Man City, yet record commercial sales of €403m have driven them to first place.

Guardiola’s side, meanwhile, place second after a record year on all fronts. Their commercial income grew to nearly €400m while they recouped €344m in broadcasting rights.

In third and fourth respectively, PSG and Barcelona both recorded growth of more than 20%, with the Ligue 1 side earning just €1.7m than their counterparts from Camp Nou. Both posted big wages to revenue ratios, though, with PSG scoring 77% in this regard and Barca hitting an alarming 81%.

Man Utd have fallen to fifth on the list following another season of disappointing on-field performance.

Liverpool endured the greatest fall in terms of ranking, dropping from third to seventh, and were one of three clubs to record a drop in revenue. The others were Atletico Madrid and West Ham United.

The Messi effect to shake up the Money League

Deloitte are predicting that the hegemony of European football could soon be challenged by clubs from the USA and Brazil.

“Inter Miami has reported a significant revenue uplift following the signing of Lionel Messi in 2023, meanwhile Flamengo were knocking on the door of this year’s top 30. With plans for the 2025/26 FIFA Club World Cup to involve 32 teams (with 20 clubs outside of the European confederation), these challenger clubs could benefit from additional revenue streams,” it states.

For now, though, Messi will have to wait as Real Madrid can celebrate a spectacular year.