Manchester United have regained top spot in the Deloitte Money League for the first time in more than a decade.
The Red Devils, benefiting from a return to the Champions League, posted a record revenue of £515.3million over the course of the 2015-16.
That was enough to knock Real Madrid off the top spot after 11 years at the summit. The Spaniards slipped to third, despite returning their own record of £463.8m – an increase of almost £45m. Barcelona move into second.
Figures were up at Old Trafford across the board, with improved revenues showing in the matchday, broadcast and commercial sectors.
Dan Jones, partner in the Sports Business Group at Deloitte, said: ‘In recent years, (United’s) ability to secure commercial partnerships with value in excess of that achievable by their peers has been the crucial factor in enabling the club to regain their place at the top of the Money League.
‘They’ll face strong competition from FC Barcelona and Real Madrid to retain the top spot in next year’s edition, due to the lack of Champions League football, the weakening of the Pound against the Euro and, over the longer term, as other clubs enter the commercial market demanding similar deals, using United as the precedent.’
Over the course of the Money League’s 20-year existence, United are the only side other than Real to have held top spot, and the huge wealth of English clubs was evident again in 2015-16, as eight teams made the top 20.
Manchester City moved into the top five for the first time, their revenues up £40m to just under £400m, while Leicester made their debut appearance in the list.
The £128.7m generated by the Foxes during their surprise title-winning season is almost five times more than the club recorded during the 2013-14 campaign.
Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool all had the money to be placed in the top 10, Tottenham finished 11th and West Ham also made the cut, having seen revenues rise by more than a third.
Combined revenues for the clubs who made the top 20 grew a whopping 12 per cent to £6.4billion, of which eight Premier League sides contributed £2.4b.
Further growth is expected from English team’s next year, with Deloitte senior manager Tim Bridge predicting almost total domination of the Money League top 30 next term.
‘We can expect the growth rate to be strong again next year as the Premier League clubs benefit from increased revenue due to their record television contracts,’ he said, referring to the £5.14b TV rights deal which began at the start of the current campaign.
‘There is a strong chance that almost all Premier League clubs will be in the top 30 clubs next year.’
The report, put together by business advisers Deloitte, uses figures extracted from the annual financial statements of the company or group in respect of each club.
