Real Madrid has overtaken Manchester United as the world's biggest football club by revenue after the signing of several star players boosted foreign merchandising revenue, a survey by Deloitte shows.
Manchester United was relegated to second place after topping the league for the previous eight years. Among the stars signed was David Beckham, who left the English club in 2003 after Real Madrid paid about €36 million for him.
AC Milan took third place in the money league, which is based on the 20 biggest clubs' financial reports for last year. Juventus ranked fourth, followed by Chelsea in fifth place. Chelsea, owned by Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich, occupied fourth place the previous year.
Real Madrid generated revenue of €276 million last year. Sales have doubled in the past five seasons as the addition of Beckham, Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldo and Michael Owen boosted demand for Real Madrid shirts, football boots and scarves, according to Alan Switzer, a consultant at Deloitte's sports business group.
"Beckham is their biggest brand in terms of pure glamour, but the whole package is important to revenue," Mr Switzer said.
"Real Madrid estimated that it generated 40 per cent of its revenue from Spain last year. Compare that to four or five years ago, when 80- 90 per cent of revenue came from Spain."
The total revenue of the top 20 football clubs broke the €3 billion mark for the first time.
Team success on the pitch is a key factor for the clubs' positions in the money league - 14 of the top 20 clubs reached the UEFA Champions League lucrative group stage last year.
