This post reports the general findings of the latest authoritative Deloitte Money League. Club analysis in a separate post.
Now in its 28th edition, the Deloitte
Football Money League profiles the highest revenue generating football clubs in
world football. The 2023/24 season unlocked a new frontier, as Real Madrid
became the first football club to record €1 billion in revenue.
The 2023/24 season created football history, as Real Madrid
became the first football club to generate €1 billion across a single season.
The club’s financial success during the season was underpinned by the newly
renovated and expanded Bernabéu Stadium, which delivered significant uplifts to
matchday and commercial revenue over the previous season.
Cumulatively, the Money League clubs in 2023/24 generated a
record €11.2 billion, an increase of 6% over the 2022/23 season, with record
matchday, commercial and broadcast revenues. In 2023/24, the average Money
League club generated €560m, comprised of €244m (44%) commercial revenue, €213m
(38%) broadcast revenue, and €103m (18%) matchday revenue.
A rise in clubs’ stadium capacity, general ticket prices and
premium matchday offerings caused matchday revenues to grow 11% year-on-year,
making it the fastest growing revenue stream for Money League clubs once again.
Matchday revenue surpassed €2 billion (€2.1 billion) for the first time in the
history of the publication, accounting for 18% of total revenue, the highest
share since 2014/15 - 19%.
At €4.9 billion, commercial remained the largest revenue
source for Money League clubs for the second year running, accounting for 44%
of total revenue. The 10% uplift over the previous year was largely driven by
an increase in the hosting of non-football live events, improved retail
performance and a rise in sponsorship revenues.
During the 2023/24 season, several football clubs hosted
major sporting events in their stadia, boosting commercial revenues. For
instance, select French clubs benefitted from the 2023 Rugby World Cup and
German clubs from the 2024 UEFA EUROs. Recognition of the reliability and
potential upside from venue-generated income has led to half of the Money
League clubs pursuing stadia redevelopment in 2025, including FC Barcelona and
Manchester City (presently in the construction phase) and Manchester United
(currently exploring available options to redevelop Old Trafford).
Additionally, eight Money League clubs reported stronger
retail performance, highlighting their ability to leverage brand value and
sporting success to drive commercial revenue and likely a move towards clubs
controlling more of the value chain from the sale of merchandising than ever
before – perhaps a sign of how the business model of football clubs is evolving
for the future.
In contrast, there was no uplift in the broadcast revenue
(€4.3 billion) cumulatively reported by Money League clubs in 2023/24, as each
of the ‘big five’ leagues remained in the same domestic broadcast cycle as the
preceding season. The ‘big five’ leagues have or will be entering, a period of
relatively stable broadcast revenues due to longer-term domestic media rights
deals through to at least 2027.
The Premier League will reportedly benefit from an uplift in
the value of its international media rights from 2025/26, primarily through new
agreements across the MENA and APAC regions. Furthermore, in November the
Premier League announced plans to establish an in-house media operation,
signalling a potential evolution to its business model. Launching in 2026/27,
this initiative will be responsible for the production and distribution of
international media, potentially reshaping the league’s relationship with
broadcast partners.
There is a clear distinction in revenue generation models
between the two halves of the 2023/24 Money League. For clubs ranked in the top
10, commercial revenue is the dominant income source, accounting for 48% of
club revenues. Contrastingly, broadcast is the key revenue driver for clubs
ranked 11-20, representing 47% of club revenues. Both sets of clubs
respectively generated 18% of their total revenue from matchday.
The trend for the most financially successful clubs to
leverage the growth in commercial revenue is illustrated by the evolution of
the split between the different revenue streams. In 2009/10, the revenue
profile of the clubs ranked 1-10 and 11-20 was largely the same. Matchday
accounted for 26% and 23% of total revenues across each group respectively,
broadcast 43% and 44%, and commercial 31% and 33%. This indicates that,
historically, business models of Money League clubs were relatively similar,
with on-pitch performance driving financial success.
While, 14 years on, this seemingly remains the case for
clubs ranked 11-20, the same can’t be said for clubs ranked 1-10. In 2023/24,
the top 10 clubs’ revenue composition was more heavily skewed towards
commercial revenue, ultimately driving differences in the significance of this
(1-10; 48%; 11-20: 34%) and broadcast (1-10: 34%; 11-20: 47%) for clubs at
either end of the Money League.
This indicates that while several Money League clubs
leverage their global profile to drive club revenues, notably sponsorship and
retail, several clubs, particularly those in the lower half of the Money
League, are still reliant on on-pitch success. Since the 2016/17 season, while
only 11 clubs have featured in the top-10 of the Money League, 18 different
clubs featured in the bottom half.
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