Real Madrid is football’s biggest earner, Liverpool the best in the Premier League

Real Madrid remained the highest-earning club in world football through the 2024-2025 season, while Liverpool generated the most revenue in the Premier League for the first time, according to an annual financial list published on Thursday.

The Spanish club topped Deloitte’s Football Money League with revenues of 1.16 billion euros ($1.36 billion), despite winning neither La Liga nor the Champions League. Real Madrid, the only club to earn more than $1 billion over the past two seasons, benefited from a whopping 23% increase in commercial revenues – driven by merchandise and business partners – to €594 million in 2024-25, Deloitte figures show.

Eternal rival and reigning La Liga champions Barcelona were the second highest earners with 975 million euros and back in the top three for the first time in five years.

Bundesliga champion Bayern Munich is in third place with 861 million euros, ahead of Champions League winner Paris St-Germain with 837 million euros.

READ | Man United records sixth annual loss in a row and predicts a decline in turnover

Liverpool’s fifth place in the global money list, with €836 million in revenue from its Premier League-winning season, was the strongest performance by any English club in the ranking’s 29-year history.

Manchester City dropped to sixth place with €829 million, followed by this season’s Premier League leaders Arsenal with €822 million.

MANCHESTER UNITED’S SLIDE

Manchester United, which finished a lowly fifteenth place in the Premier League last season, fell from fourth to eighth place in terms of turnover with 793 million euros – the lowest position ever in the Money League, where it has been at the top ten times in the past.

Deloitte noted that United’s revenue prospects for the current season will deteriorate due to the absence of European competition and the early exit from the FA Cup and League Cup.

“If you go back 10 to 15 years, Manchester United’s matchday revenues were industry leading,” says Tim Bridge, principal partner at Deloitte’s Sports Business Group.

«Their ability to generate commercial revenue was the benchmark for the market. I don’t think that is still the case.»

Six Premier League clubs made it into the global top 10, with Tottenham in ninth place with €673 million and Chelsea in 10th with €584 million.

In total, the revenues of the top twenty clubs increased by 11% to a record amount of 12.4 billion euros. Commercial revenues increased to €5.3 billion, thanks to increased stadium use on non-match days, increasing sponsorship deals and improved retail activities.

Matchday revenues grew the fastest, by 16% to €2.4 billion, while broadcast revenues rose 10%, helped by the expanded FIFA Club World Cup in the United States last summer.

Deloitte said the emergence of some Saudi Pro League clubs and Inter Miami from Major League Soccer could challenge the financial hegemony of Europe’s top teams in the future.

“Squads filled with star players have had a major impact on the global profile of clubs and both competitions,” the report said.

“For MLS in particular, taking advantage of this opportunity after the 2026 World Cup could be key to unlocking a new market of soccer fans in the United States.”

Published on January 22, 2026