Liverpool, Manchester United, and Manchester City have slipped down in the latest Deloitte Football Money League rankings as continental European clubs make gains.
Liverpool witnessed the most significant drop among top 20 clubs, falling from third place to seventh. Deloitte noted a slight decrease in their revenue from £594.3 million to £593.8 million. This decline was attributed to the Reds’ on-field performance, finishing fifth in the Premier League last season and exiting the Champions League in the last 16.
Despite a healthier revenue figure than the previous season, Manchester United slipped one place to fifth. Meanwhile, treble winners Manchester City were surpassed by Real Madrid, now securing the second spot. City, however, reported a record Premier League revenue figure in their recent accounts.
It is important to note that the Deloitte Football Money League focuses on revenue figures reported in clubs’ annual accounts for the 2022-23 season and does not consider operating costs.
Tottenham and Chelsea have changed positions from last year, with Spurs climbing to eighth, and Arsenal maintaining their 10th position.
Real Madrid claimed the top spot in revenue for 2022-23, totaling £723m, showcasing their success in the current European football landscape. Notably, this achievement comes despite their president, Florentino Perez, being a prominent advocate for the Super League.
Paris St Germain has secured a position in the top three for the first time, and Barcelona have risen by three places to seventh, achieving a revenue of £696m.
Deloitte’s Sports Business Group lead partner, Tim Bridge, conveyed to the PA news agency: “There is a point in time, a moment here, where you’ve got Real Madrid and Barcelona redeveloping their stadiums, they have made moves towards controlling much more of their operations, particularly merchandising and licensing, so those revenue figures are a result of direct changes they have made to their business model.
“When we look at the Premier League holistically we’re not 100 per cent certain the days of significant domestic growth in media rights is over, but what we can say is, without significant competition coming into that market, then single-figure percentage growth is the likely outcome in that domestic market. Therefore the focus is on what can be done in the international market.
“What has always underpinned the fact there have been 10 or 11 Premier League clubs in the Money League has been that the media rights growth has given them significant distributions. Other leagues have caught up and there has been a slight plateauing of Premier League rights.”
Deloitte reported that the combined earnings of the top 20 clubs reached 10.5 billion euros (£9 billion), marking a 14 percent rise from the preceding season.
Among women’s clubs globally, Barcelona Femeni emerged as the highest-earning, experiencing a substantial 74 percent increase in revenue, reaching £11.6 million.
In other Liverpool news, Liverpool’s Anfield Makes the List of Top 50 Best Stadiums in Britain in Latest Ranking