Deloitte’s latest Football Money League figures, which rank the most lucrative clubs in the world, have come out. Deloitte published the Football Money League 2023 in January 2023, which analyzes the finances of the highest revenue generating clubs. The report showed revenue growth among the top earners, with that increase driven by supporters returning to stadiums following public health measures imposed during the COVID-19 crisis. Matchday revenue increased from EUR 111 million in 2020/21 to EUR 1.4 billion in 2021/22.
Which football club is the richest in the world?
Manchester City remained the richest football club in the world in 2022 according to the Deloitte Money League, which was published on January 19, 2023. The Abu Dhabi-backed Premier League club saw its total turnover rise from £571.1 million in 2020/21 to £619.1 million in 2021/22.
Real Madrid follows City in the list for a second year in a row, with £604.5 million in revenue in 2021/22. Liverpool, with £594.3 million in revenue, has overtaken clubs such as Manchester United and Paris Saint-Germain in the race to third place.
Deloitte Football Money League – top 20 richest clubs in 2023
Of the twenty clubs, eleven come from the Premier League, three from LaLiga, three from Serie A, two from the Bundesliga and one from Ligue 1. Three English teams are in the top five, while Barcelona, the richest club in the list of 2021, has dropped to seventh place in the ranking. Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund are the representatives of Germany, while PSG are the only team from France in the top twenty. Juventus remain Italy’s richest club, but are outside the top ten globally, behind the London duo of Tottenham and Arsenal.
In 2022, the top ten richest football clubs were dominated by five Premier League teams, including Chelsea, Manchester United and Liverpool, with Arsenal finishing in 11th place and Leicester in 15th place just above West Ham United, Wolves and Everton.
Best of the rest
The rest of the top twenty was completed by Borussia Dortmund, Internazionale, Atlético Madrid, Zenit Saint Petersburg and other big European names. Manchester City’s rise was striking, if not very surprising, as they jumped five places to the top spot, with Barcelona being the biggest name left behind. Barca were in debt of €1.2 billion before they were finally forced to part ways with seven-time Ballon d’Or winner Lionel Messi, who left for PSG in the summer of 2021. Outside the top 20 and within the top 30, there were three more Premier League sides in the form of Leeds United, Southampton and Newcastle United – wealthy from their takeovers by wealthy owners – while AS Roma, Atalanta, Napoli, Lazio and AC Milan are all from Serie A.