Real Madrid has surged ahead of Manchester City to claim the title of the highest revenue-generating football club, reaching a remarkable 831 million euros (£710 million) in the 2022-23 season, as revealed by Deloitte’s analysis in their Money League study.
Despite Manchester City’s record revenue of €826 million (£705.6 million), which was bolstered by their triumphant FA Cup, Premier League, and Champions League Treble success, they now occupy the second position.
The overall revenues for the top 20 clubs experienced a substantial 14% rise, reaching an unprecedented 10.5 billion euros (£8.97 billion).
This surge is attributed to record commercial and matchday revenues, standing at 4.4 billion euros and 1.9 billion euros, respectively.
Commercial revenue has now surpassed broadcast revenue as the primary income stream, marking the first time since 2015-16, excluding the pandemic-affected 2019-20 season.
This shift is driven by factors such as retail sales, non-matchday events like concerts, and the recovery of sponsorship income impacted by the pandemic.
It suggests clubs are diversifying revenue sources to reduce dependence on broadcast deals.
Broadcast income increased modestly by 5% to 4.2 billion euros, mainly due to the existing domestic broadcast cycles during the 2022/23 season.
On average, the 20 clubs boasted revenues exceeding 500 million euros.
Real Madrid’s top position, secured for the first time since 2017-18, comes despite their Champions League semi-final loss to Manchester City and a second-place finish behind Barcelona in La Liga.
Nevertheless, they clinched the Copa del Rey, UEFA Super Cup, and FIFA Club World Cup.
The top five revenue-generating clubs also include Paris Saint-Germain (€802 million), Barcelona (€800 million), and Manchester United (€746 million).
Liverpool experienced the most significant drop, slipping from third to seventh place with revenues of €683 million (£583 million) after a fifth-place finish in the Premier League and a Champions League exit in the last-16 stage.
Tottenham, Chelsea, and Arsenal secured spots in the top 10, while Newcastle and West Ham landed in 17th and 18th positions, respectively.
Leicester City, Leeds United, and Everton dropped out of the top 20, reducing the number of Premier League clubs to eight, after at least 10 clubs featured in the past two years.
Notably, West Ham, Liverpool, and Atletico Madrid were the only teams in the top 20 to report a decline in revenue.