Real Madrid become first €1 billion club

Real Madrid became the first football club to generate over €1 billion in revenue during the 2023/24 season and are at the top of the 2025 Money League. The completion of renovations works to the Bernabéu Stadium catalysed the growth of matchday revenues to €248m in 2023/24, a 103% uplift on the previous year.

The increase was realised predominantly on account of the marketing of Personal Seat Licenses, which provided an uplift of c.€76m, as well as the sale of new VIP seats and the increased capacity of the stadium from December 2023. The club also reported a 20% increase in commercial revenue (from €403m to €482m), boosted by increased merchandise and new sleeve sponsorship. 

Manchester City remained the highest revenue generating English club, with revenue of €838m. The gap between the top-two Money League clubs in 2023/24 was €208m, the highest on record (previous record: €84m in 2018/19). 

Several clubs identified the impact of infrastructure investments as a key driver of revenue. For instance, Liverpool (€715m) and Olympique Lyonnais (€264m) benefited from such projects, with higher attendances and non-matchday events boosting matchday and commercial revenue respectively.

Elsewhere, FC Barcelona fell to 6th following a decrease of €40m in revenue, from €800m in 2022/23 to €760m in 2023/24. The decline was driven by a €63m fall in matchday revenue due to matches being played at the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys, a stadium with nearly half the capacity of Spotify Camp Nou that is currently under redevelopment. However, with the club expected to return to the Spotify Camp Nou in 2025 (with the full stadium works to be completed before the 2026/27 season), it will expect to reap the benefits of enhanced matchday and commercial revenues in upcoming seasons. 

Four of the top-10 Money League clubs identified retail and sponsorship as key revenue drivers in 2023/24. The ability to generate incremental commercial revenue in recent years through brand activation has enabled the likes of Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool to maintain their top-10 status, and AC Milan to retain 13th place despite missing out on lucrative UEFA Champions League broadcast income. Olympique Lyonnais also successfully monetised its brand, generating a €27m lump-sum royalty as compensation for granting of an initial 50-year license for the ‘Olympique Lyonnais’ brands to OL Féminin.  

Akin to previous years, sporting performance played a crucial role in providing financial impetus. In the 2023/24 season, this led clubs such as Arsenal (€717m), Borussia Dortmund (€514m), Newcastle (€372m) and Aston Villa (€310m) to grow revenues through participation in UEFA competitions and improved domestic performances yielding higher broadcast distributions.

Contrastingly, Juventus (€356m) fell from 11th to 16th, the club’s lowest ranking in Money League history, following an absence from European football in 2023/24. The club reported an 18% decrease in overall revenue, following a 37% (€58m) fall in broadcast revenue. 

The make-up of the clubs ranked 11th-20th reinforces the impact of on-pitch success on financial performance. For example, Eintracht Frankfurt (€245m) dropped out of the top-20 in 2023/24 following a 34% decline in broadcast revenue (16% decrease in total revenue) as the club participated in the UEFA Europa Conference League versus the Champions League. This feat further underscores the distinction in business models between clubs in the Money League and reiterates the role commercial revenue generating ability has played in enabling the likes of Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur, and Chelsea to retain their position in the top-10 despite reduced broadcast income after missing out on Champions League participation.

Over 300 sport stadium projects (renovations or new builds) are underway globally in 2025. While not all these projects relate to football clubs, it is reflective of an increased industry-wide focus towards creating stable and diversified revenue streams through stadia utilised beyond matchdays. In addition to increasing capacity to service excess demand, clubs are focused on building smarter entertainment destinations that deliver better experiences for players, artists, fans, and the wider community throughout the year.

However, stadiums, much like the broader football club, are viewed as community assets and thus it is essential that they are built with the needs and welfare of the local community in mind.

Additionally, the ‘big five’ European leagues are entering a period of stability in domestic broadcast income, and only the Premier League and LaLiga are expected to deliver significant uplifts through international rights. 

Therefore, the next material uplift could come from an increase in the number of matches played by clubs via the introduction of new formats to existing competitions. This can be expected on account of changes made to UEFA club competitions from 2024/25, and the expanded FIFA Club World Cup between June and July 2025.

In financial terms, the expanded UEFA competitions will increase the revenue generating capacity of European clubs outside of the ‘big five’ leagues, with more teams qualifying for the league phase, where they will play more matches. Per Deloitte analysis, excluding the impact of changes to the number of pre-knock out matches, winning the Champions League could result in revenue uplifts of c.€15m over the previous format (UEFA Europa League: c.€8m and UEFA Europa Conference League: c.€3m).

Similarly, the FIFA Club World Cup is expected to provide a significant uplift to some non-European clubs such as Flamengo, who this year ranked in the top 30 of the Money League for the first time since 1996/97 and Inter Miami.

However, there is a need to balance revenue optimisation with player welfare as many stakeholders acknowledge the impact of increased workloads. Clubs such as Real Madrid, Manchester City and Flamengo who are participating in the FIFA Club World Cup in 2025 could have potentially played in 68, 74, and 87 matches respectively during the 2024/25 season².

In October 2024, FIFPro Europe filed a formal complaint to the European Union over the international match calendar. Should the challenges not be resolved, there exists a financial risk if the union votes to implement a strike during the football season. In addition, the need to manage workload is critical to providing the best on-pitch quality and the entertainment that fans, broadcasters, sponsors, and investors all crave. The inability to resolve this key challenge will damage the value of the sport in all senses in the long-term.

As governing bodies introduce new competitions or implement format changes to existing competitions, the relative importance of sporting performances in driving financial success for clubs will increase. The top performing Money League clubs have all used historical and current on-pitch success as a catalyst to spark the growth of global sport and entertainment brands.

A shake-up in the rankings will require clubs further down the ladder to take the leap in on-pitch performance, while nurturing a brand and ethos that transcends borders to resonate with international audiences both in roaring stadiums and across digital platforms.