Liverpool top English club in Money League

In 2024/25, Real Madrid remained the only football club to generate over €1 billion in revenue, doing so for the second consecutive year. While the club reported a 6% decrease in matchday revenue, primarily driven by a reduction in revenue from the sale of Personal Seat Licenses, its €233m matchday revenue would still rank as the second highest ever generated by a Money League club. Additionally, the club reported a 23% increase in commercial revenue, driven by improved merchandise performance and new commercial partners.

For the first time since 2019/20, FC Barcelona returned to the Deloitte Money League podium (2^nd), generating €975m. Despite continuing to play matches away from the Spotify Camp Nou, which is due for completion during the 2025/26 season, the club reported a 27% growth in revenue compared to 2023/24.

A key driver for this growth was the introduction of Personal Seat Licence arrangements, generating one-off c.€70m. Much like Real Madrid during the 2023/24 season, Barcelona introduced these licenses in conjunction with its stadia redevelopment, which points towards more European clubs exploring this option in conjunction with future major stadia development projects.

Bayern Munich (€861m) rounded off the top three, rising two places from last year on the back of an increase in broadcast revenue from its participation in the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup.

Paris Saint Germain (€837m) remained in the top five (4^th) for the fourth straight year on the back of a successful season on the pitch as they won their first UCL title. Additionally, the club continues to successfully leverage its brand equity to drive commercial growth, with partnerships with international brands like Air Jordan embedding the club’s presence in various areas of popular culture.

For the first time in Money League history, Liverpool ranked as the highest revenue generating English club (5^th), as the club reported total revenue of €836m, driven by a 34% increase in broadcast revenue following its return to the UCL and a 7% increase in commercial revenue on the back of more non-matchday events at Anfield.

Manchester City (€829m) fell four places from 2^nd to 6^th, owing to a marginal decrease in revenue compared to the 2023/24 season as the club finished 3^rd in the English Premier League, compared with winning the league in 2023/24, and were eliminated in the UCL playoffs compared with progressing to the Quarter Finals the previous season.

Local rivals, Manchester United slid four places to 8^th, their lowest ranking in Money League history, as the club reported total revenue of €793m for 2024/25 compared to €771m the prior year. While the club reported a combined increase of €75m through matchday and commercial revenues, there was a year-on-year decrease of €52m in broadcast revenue due to on-pitch results.

FIFA Club World Cup clubs have strong representation in this year’s Money League, with ten of this year’s clubs having participated. This includes SL Benfica, resulting in the Portuguese club featuring for the first time since 2005/06, being the first non ‘big five’ league entrant since 2020/21 (Zenit St. Petersburg).

Also reappearing in the Money League for the first time in over a decade (2009/10) is VfB Stuttgart, which reported an almost 90% increase in matchday revenue to €70m (2023/24: €37m). This was driven largely by competing in the UCL and from additional hospitality revenue following the renovation of the MHP Arena.

For the first time since 2021/22, the 2024/25 Money League rankings included only one French club, as neither Olympique de Marseille nor Olympique Lyonnais feature in this year’s top 20 rankings. Ligue 1’s less favourable domestic broadcast deal for the 2024/25 season, coupled with the cessation of income relating to CVC Capital’s investment into a commercial subsidiary of the league, were the significant drivers in neither featuring this year.

Whilst they have not featured in the Money League to date, the rise of some Saudi Pro League clubs, and Inter Miami from Major League Soccer, poses a commercial challenge to Europe’s leading clubs. Squads filled with star players have had a major impact on the global profile of clubs and both leagues. For the MLS in particular, capitalising on this opportunity following the 2026 FIFA World Cup could be the key to unlocking a new market of football fans in the United States. Before long, we may indeed see clubs from these leagues feature in the Money League as the world’s top revenue-generating clubs.

Fulham requires big funding from owner

After lengthy delays, Fulham’s shiny, new Riverside Stand has finally opened, creating “a unique Thameside destination with first class facilities for supporters and partners on match days, as well as for the wider community year-round”. This ambitious project has increased Craven Cottage’s capacity by around 4,000 to 29,600, while it has also taken advantage of the club’s fantastic location and wealthy catchment area by including two Michelin star restaurants, a rooftop swimming pool, corporate hospitality and event space, all benefiting from views of the Thames. Chief executive Alistair Mackintosh observed, “Fulham is the sort of club that can have a business class or first class and have fans that turn left on a plane.” Indeed, there is also an exclusive members club – with a football season ticket as an optional extra. It’s fair to say that “the times they are a-changing”, as this is a long way from the traditional pie and a pint. However, in a world where clubs face the tw...

It's no deal say Spurs insiders over Taiwanese takeover

Senior figures at Tottenham Hotspur insisted on Friday that they had not been informed of any deal to sell Daniel Levy’s stake in the club. A business group, Eight Sports Capital — which is said to include a billionaire Taiwanese financier — claimed that it had an agreement in place to buy a 24.99 per cent stake in ENIC, the club’s majority owners, from Levy, who owns 29.88 per cent. The Times has been told Ng Wing Fai and Brooklyn Earick form part of the group, having both been linked previously to potential takeovers of the Premier League club. The Taiwanese businessman, Richard Tsai, is also said to be part of the consortium. He is reportedly worth £7 billion. Last year Earick, the former DJ and tech entrepreneur, was part of an attempted £4.5 billion takeover, which was “unequivocally rejected” by Spurs. An ENIC spokesperson said: “We can confirm that neither ENIC nor THFC are aware of any sale by Daniel Levy’s Family Trust of its minority stake in ENIC, THFC’...

Threat of financial calamity removed from Baggies

West Bromwich Albion had effectively been in decline ever since the club was sold to a Chinese consortium in August 2016, paying a figure north of £200m to buy former owner Jeremy Peace’s stake. Controlling shareholder Guochuan Lai’s ownership was fairly disastrous for the club, but his unloved tenure finally came to an end after Bilkul Football WBA, a company ultimately owned by Florida-based entrepreneur Shilen Patel and his father Dr Kiran Patel, acquired an 87.8% shareholding in West Bromwich Albion Group Limited, the parent company of West Bromwich Albion Football Club. This change in ownership was urgently required, due to the numerous financial problems facing West Brom, including growing high-interest debt and serious cash flow concerns, following years of no investment from the former owner. Indeed, West Brom’s auditors had already rung the alarm bell in the 2021/22 accounts when they cast doubt on the club’s ability to continue as a going concern without making player s...

The Political Economy of Football V2

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