Real Madrid have retained the title of richest club in world soccer while European champions Barcelona have jumped into second place as the Spanish arch-rivals topped the list of the game's big earners.
The Football Money League report published by consultants Deloitte today showed combined revenues from the top 20 earners hit €3.5 billion boosted by TV and sponsorship deals and was again made up entirely of European clubs.
Real's income of €292.2 million for the 2005-06 season meant the club generated over €30 million more than Barca but the Catalan side's 25 per cent revenue growth in the last 12 months dwarfed Madrid's pedestrian six per cent increase.
"Barcelona has undergone a remarkable transformation in recent seasons, doubling their revenue since 2002/03," said Deloitte partner Dan Jones.
While on the pitch success accounted for Barcelona's increased wealth, much of Real's success was put down to the global appeal of players like David Beckham, Zinedine Zidane and Ronaldo as the Madrid club marketed its Galacticos in Asia and to lucrative corporate sponsors.
The influence of those former internationals has waned however since Zidane has retired, Ronaldo has joined AC Milan and Beckham has been dropped after signing a $250 million five-year deal to join MLS club LA Galaxy next season.
"The two clubs (Real and Barca) have had contrasting strategies, with Real focusing on driving commercial revenue from recruiting its Galactico players and Barcelona having a more balanced revenue profile," said Jones.
Manchester United, who topped the rich list every year until 2004/05, slipped into fourth place behind Italy's disgraced Juventus, partly as the English side failed to make it into the lucrative Champions League knockout phase.
The remaining top 10 places were filled by AC Milan (€238.7 million), Chelsea (€221), Inter Milan (€206.6), Bayern Munich (€204.7), Arsenal (€192.4) and Liverpool (€176).
With a wave of big money TV deals about to kick in across Europe, Deloitte said media agreements would continue to drive up clubs' revenues and pinpointed English teams as the biggest likely beneficiaries after the latest round of bonanza deals.
"The Premier League's recently concluded broadcasting deals may see English teams contribute half of the top 20 clubs in 2007/08," they added.
List of World's richest clubs
1 Real Madrid €292.2 million
2 Barcelona €259.1
3 Juventus €251.2
4 ManUtd €242.6
5 AC Milan €238.7
6 Chelsea €221.0
7 Inter Milan €206.6
8 Bayern Munich €204.7
9 Arsenal €192.4
10 Liverpool €176.0
11 Olympique Lyon €127.7
12 AS Roma €127.0
13 Newcastle Utd €124.3
14 Schalke 04 €122.9
15 Tottenham €107.2
16 Hamburg SV €101.8
17 Manchester City €89.4
18 Rangers €88.5
19 West Ham €86.9
20 Benfica €85.1