Manchester United are confirmed as the world's richest football club as Deloitte publish their Football Money League standings for 2018 in terms of global revenue.
Unsurprisingly the top 20 clubs are all from Europe, with Manchester United sat on the top of the pile for the second successive year after generating total revenue of £581m – just £1.5m ahead of Real Madrid. That's the closest gap between the top two in Football Money League history.
- Manchester United, £581.2m
- Real Madrid, £579.7m
- Barcelona, £557.1m
- Bayern Munich, £505.1m
- Man City, £453.5m
- Arsenal, £419m
- Paris Saint-Germain, £417.8m
- Chelsea, £367.8m
- Liverpool, £364.5m
- Juventus, £348.6m
- Tottenham, £305.6m
- Borussia Dortmund, £285.8m
- Atletico Madrid, £234.2m
- Leicester City, £233m
- Internazionale, £225.2m
- Schalke, £197.8m
- West Ham, £183.3m
- Southampton, £182.3m
- Napoli, £172.5m
- Everton, £171.2m
The top of the list tends to pack no surprises, it's actually further down the list where the real story is told, as Premier League clubs dominate proceedings. Half of the top 20 richest clubs are English, and that's the highest ever haul from one country. A telling sign of the Premier League's current television deal. Southampton (18th) make their debut in the Money League top 20, mainly due to selling everything to Liverpool. Manchester City consolidate their place in the top five, and Leicester City rise to 14th, from 20th last year.
Pot of Gold? Bournemouth's Dean Court Stadium hosted fourth tier football in 2010, now it hosts the world's 28th richest club.
Even more telling is that outside the top 20, there are four more English clubs ranked 21-30, including AFC Bournemouth who debut in 28th place. A club with a capacity of 11,000. Strong proof that ticket sales have such little bearing on a club's finances, yet prices remain sky high.
Looking ahead, changes to the Champions League format from 2018/19 and the new Premier League domestic and international broadcast rights agreements commencing in 2019/20 will be key influencing factors on the membership and order of clubs in future editions of the Money League. A place in the top 20 now requires revenue of approximately €200m, a 16% increase on last year and double the amount required in the 2010 edition of the Money League.
Money, it talks.
