Real Madrid remains the top earner in world football, but Liverpool has moved up the table and Manchester United has fallen.
Liverpool have surpassed Manchester United as the Premier League’s biggest earner for the first time, according to the annual financial list, while Real Madrid remains world football’s top performer in 2024-25.
In Deloitte’s Football Money League released on Thursday, the Spanish club topped the league with revenue of 1.16 billion euros ($1.36 billion), despite not winning La Liga or the Champions League. Real Madrid, the only club to earn more than $1 billion in the past two seasons, benefited from a 23% increase in commercial income from merchandise and corporate partners to €594 million ($696.6 million) from 2024 to 2025, Deloitte statistics show.
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Eternal rivals and current La Liga champions Barcelona are second with 975 million euros (approximately 11.4 billion yen), returning to the top three for the first time in five years.
Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich came in third with 861 million euros (approximately $1.09 billion), ahead of Champions League winners Paris Saint-Germain’s 837 million euros (approximately $981.5 million).
Liverpool, who earned 836 million euros (approximately $980.4 million) in revenue during the Premier League championship season and finished fifth in the world prize money rankings, recorded the best performance by an English club in the ranking’s 29-year history.
Manchester City has fallen to sixth place with €829 million ($721.3 million), followed by Premier League leaders Arsenal this season with €822 million ($1.1 billion).
The end of Manchester United
Manchester United, who finished a lowly 15th in the Premier League last season, fell from fourth to eighth place with revenue of 793 million euros (approximately $929.7 million). This is the lowest ranking ever in Money League, which has topped the table 10 times.
Deloitte said United’s revenue outlook for this season would worsen due to their absence from European competition and early withdrawal from the FA Cup and League Cup.
“If you go back 10 or 15 years, Manchester United had the highest matchday revenue in the industry,” said Tim Bridge, lead partner in Deloitte’s sports business group.
“Their ability to generate commercial revenue was the market benchmark. I don’t think that’s still the case.”
Six Premier League teams are in the world’s top 10, with Tottenham in ninth place with 673 million euros (approximately $789.1 million) and Chelsea in 10th place with 584 million euros (approximately $684.8 million).
Overall, revenue for the top 20 clubs increased by 11% to a record 12.4 billion euros ($14.5 billion). Commercial revenue increased to 5.3 billion euros ($6.2 billion) due to increased stadium use on non-match days, increased sponsorship deals and improved retail operations.
Matchday revenue grew the fastest, rising 16% to 2.4 billion euros ($2.8 billion), while broadcasting revenue rose 10% due to last year’s expansion of the FIFA Club World Cup in the United States.
Deloitte said the rise of Inter Miami from some clubs in Saudi Arabia’s professional league and from Major League Soccer could challenge the financial supremacy of major European teams in the future.
“The star-studded squad had a major impact on the worldwide profile of the club and both leagues,” the publication said.
“For MLS in particular, capitalizing on this opportunity after the 2026 FIFA World Cup could be key to tapping into a new market of U.S. soccer fans.”
