Real topped Deloitte's list of the 20 leading football clubs by revenue, beating Spanish rivals Barcelona into second place, while Manchester United dropped to third place from second last year.
“Real Madrid’s 10-per-cent increase in revenue to €401 million came despite a relatively disappointing season domestically and in Europe,” said Dan Jones of Deloitte's Sport Business Group. “Broadcast income provided Real with its largest increase in revenue, and at €161 million is now greater than the total revenue of all but the top ten Money League clubs.
“FC Barcelona’s unprecedented on-pitch success, winning a domestic double and the Champions League, helped drive a revenue increase by €57 million, the largest absolute increase of any Money League club, to €366m.”
Manchester United, and the other English clubs, saw their revenue hit by the depreciation of the Pound against the Euro, Jones said. “If exchange rates remained at their June 2007 level, United would be top of the Money League table.”
It was another bumper year in revenue terms for the top 20 clubs overall, as combined revenues rose €26 million to over €3.9 billion. But there were signs that the wider poor economy is starting to hit football, as nine of the top 20 clubs showed a decrease in revenues in local currency compared to the previous year.
Deloitte say the outlook for continued revenue generation at these levels by these top clubs remains bright, although the full impact of the economic slowdown was yet to be felt.
“The game’s top clubs are well placed to meet the challenges presented by the difficult economic environment," said Paul Rawnsley, director at the Sport Business Group. "Their large and loyal supporter bases, ability to drive broadcast audiences, and continuing attraction to corporate partners provide a strong base to underpin revenues. This premise is supported by clubs’ revenue performance in 2008/09. However it will not be until 2009/10, the season currently in progress, before we see the full impact on clubs’ revenues."
Dan Jones added: “Whilst there has been much recent comment on the finances of English football clubs, we believe the fundamentals of football remain strong. Financial problems experienced at the very highest level are far more likely to be a result of mismanagement, weak cost control or a lack of available credit than any problems with revenue generation.”
The Deloitte Football Money League – 2008/09 revenue
1 (2007-08 position: 1) Real Madrid €401.4m
2 (3) FC Barcelona €365.9m
3 (2) Manchester United €327.0m
4 (4) Bayern Munich €289.5m
5 (6) Arsenal €263.0m
6 (5) Chelsea €242.3m
7 (8) Liverpool €217.0m
8 (11) Juventus €203.2m
9 (10) Internazionale €196.5m
10 (7) AC Milan €196.5m
11 (15) Hamburger SV €146.7m
12 (9) AS Roma €146.4m
13 (12) Olympique Lyonnais €139.6m
14 (16) Olympique de Marseille €33.2m
15 (14) Tottenham Hotspur €132.7m
16 (13) Schalke 04 €124.5m
17 (n/a) Werder Bremen €114.7m
18 (20) Borussia Dortmund €103.5m
19 (n/a) Manchester City €102.2m
20 (17) Newcastle United €101.0m
Source: Deloitte Football Money League 2010
