Soccer

Real Madrid become the first club to top €1 billion in revenue for a single season

Deloitte Money League finds Manchester City were second and Manchester United fourth

General view inside the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu. Photograph: Angel Martinez/Getty
General view inside the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu. Photograph: Angel Martinez/Getty
Sean Ingle
Thu Jan 23 2025 - 00:01

Real Madrid became the first football club to surpass €1bn in revenue in a season when they substantially increased their financial firepower over their major European rivals.

According to the latest Deloitte Football Money League report, Madrid made €1.046bn in the 2023-24 season, fuelled by match-day revenue doubling to €248m after the completion of renovations to the Bernabéu and a 19 per cent increase in commercial revenue. They ended the campaign as winners of the Champions League, La Liga and the Spanish Super Cup.

Manchester City were second after making €838m, with Paris Saint-Germain third with €806m and Manchester United fourth on €771m. The revenue gap between the first- and second-placed teams has never been wider in the 28 years that Deloitte has been compiling the list.

“One billion euros in revenues is a landmark in club football,” said Theo Ajadi, assistant director in the Deloitte Sports Business Group. “The redevelopment of Madrid’s stadium has been the catalyst for the club’s growth. They’ve licensed some seating, which has provided a significant uplift in revenue, and also increased merchandising and brought in new sleeve sponsorship. That, along with strong on-pitch performance, has led to Madrid’s strong financial performance.”

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Deloitte found that the top 20 revenue-generating clubs made a record €11.2bn in the 2023-24 season, a 6 per cent increase in cumulative revenues from the previous season.

Bayern Munich were fifth in the list, with Barcelona dropping to sixth owing to playing away from the Camp Nou while the stadium is being redeveloped.

Premier League clubs make up nine of the top 20, with Arsenal seventh, Liverpool eighth, Spurs ninth and Chelsea 10th. Newcastle, West Ham and Aston Villa are 15th, 17th and 18th respectively.

“The Premier League still dominates the money league table and that is driven by such a big gap between the media rights it is able to generate,” said Ajadi. “It is the most-watched league of the big five leagues and that has also given that spending to perform well in Europe.”

Match-day revenue accounted for a greater share of clubs’ revenue – 18 per cent – than it had since the 2014-15 season, Deloitte found. Arsenal’s and Liverpool’s match-day revenue went up by £21m and £24m respectively. However, City’s and United’s went up only slightly, by £4m and £840,000, while Spurs’s declined by £9m in a season when they were without European football.

For a third consecutive year, Barcelona were the top club in the women’s game with €17.93m in revenue, a 26 per cent increase from the 2022-23 season. Arsenal ranked a close second, also with revenue of €17.88m, while Chelsea, Manchester United and Real Madrid made up the top five.

“The women’s side of the game continues to grow from strength with revenue up 35 per cent this year among the top 15 clubs,” said Ajadi. “We are seeing more clubs having more games in their main stadium, while attracting new audiences that aren’t necessarily enamoured with the men’s game also gives them more potential revenues going forward.” - Guardian