In the latest Deloitte Football Money League rankings for the 2022-23 season, Real Madrid has surged ahead of Manchester City, claiming the coveted top spot with a total revenue of 831 million euros. This marks Real Madrid’s return to leadership since the 2017-18 season. Manchester City, despite losing the pinnacle position they held for the past two years, reported their highest-ever revenue, reaching 826 million euros. Paris St Germain secured the third spot with 802 million euros.
Barcelona made a noteworthy ascent from seventh place in the previous year to fourth, generating a total of 800 million euros. On the other hand, Manchester United slipped to fifth place, recording a revenue of 746 million euros. Real Madrid’s impressive 16% revenue growth is attributed to several factors, including robust retail performance, increased stadium attendance, and a recovery in sponsorship income.
An interesting shift occurred as commercial revenue took precedence as the primary income stream for clubs, a departure from the dominance of broadcast revenue since the 2015-16 season, excluding the COVID-19 impacted 2019-20 season. Broadcast revenue saw a modest 5% increase.
Liverpool, last year’s notable climbers, experienced a significant fall in rankings, dropping from third to seventh place. Alongside them, Atletico Madrid and West Ham United also reported a decline in revenue. Premier League representation in the top 20 reduced from 11 to 8, with Leicester City, Leeds United, and Everton replaced by Eintracht Frankfurt, Napoli, and Olympique Marseille.
The overall revenue generated by Money League clubs in the 2022-23 season reached a historic high of 10.5 billion euros, marking a substantial 14% increase from the previous year and surpassing pre-pandemic levels (9.2 billion euros in both 2021-22 and 2018-19).
