Real Madrid tops global rankings with over €1bn revenue with nine English clubs in top 20
The Liverpool FC bus makes its way through Liverpool’s streets during the Premier League winners parade in 2025(Image: Danny Lawson/PA Wire)
Manchester United have slumped to their lowest-ever ranking in the Deloitte Football Money League, whilst Liverpool have emerged as England’s top earner for the first time.
The Red Devils were once seen as the gold standard for commercial prowess in the game and have claimed top spot in the Money League on 10 occasions across its 29-year history, last doing so in 2017.
Yet United now languish in eighth place in the 2026 rankings, partly because broadcast income has tumbled from 258m euros (£224.7m) to 206m euros (£179.4m) following their exclusion from the Champions League during 2024-25.
The club is poised to rake in even less matchday income this campaign owing to their absence from European action, whilst early exits from both domestic cup tournaments mean they’ll host just 20 competitive matches at Old Trafford throughout 2025-26.
Tim Bridge, who leads Deloitte’s Sports Business Group, told the Press Association: “The clubs with the biggest football club brands and position in the market have an opportunity to broaden their reach and offer more to fans on a matchday, offer more to fans on a non-matchday, and become a more 365-days-a-year touch point. United are probably only just starting that journey now, because of the reported stadium development.
“If you went back 10 or 15 years, and you looked at Manchester United’s matchday revenue it was the industry leader. If you looked at their ability to generate commercial revenue, it was the benchmark by which everybody then went to market and set their strategy. I don’t think that remains the case.
“The opportunity remains for Manchester United. They are arguably still the biggest global football club brand, and therefore they have the opportunity to maximise that in a way that is only possible for a select few.
“But to do that requires fit-for-purpose facilities. As the industry evolves, clubs should ask themselves whether there is a need to rethink how they engage with fans and how that relationship works. With reports of the new stadium, it is clear they have started to do some of that, so it’s very clear they’re thinking in that way. Their timing of making that change is behind Real Madrid and Barcelona, but the opportunity remains.”
United have slipped to fourth amongst English clubs in the 2026 Money League, trailing Liverpool, Manchester City and Arsenal, whilst Real Madrid lead the pack, becoming the first side to break through the one billion euro barrier – registering 1.161bn euros or £1.01bn.
Liverpool occupy fifth spot following their Champions League comeback in 2024-25, alongside a seven per cent uplift in commercial takings from non-matchday activities at Anfield. For the first time, no English club has featured in the Money League’s top four, with Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Paris St Germain all capitalising on strong runs in the newly-expanded Champions League and the enlarged FIFA Club World Cup held during the summer months.
According to Deloitte, participation in the Club World Cup delivered an average 17 per cent boost in broadcast revenues for the 10 Money League clubs involved in the competition.
Premier League sides may anticipate improved fortunes in the 2027 Money League, which will be the first edition to capture the impact of the new broadcast agreement running through to 2029. However, Bridge emphasised that the top-performing clubs would continue to be those combining success on the pitch with commercial diversification beyond it.
“The trick to staying (in the top five) is maintaining both of those. It used to be you only had to maintain one of them. Now, in 2026, we’re at a point where the highest revenue generating clubs are probably broader than football,” he said.
Manchester City’s sixth-place finish marked their lowest position since the Covid-19-affected 2019-20 campaign.
Overall, nine Premier League clubs secured places in the Money League’s top 20, including Tottenham (ninth), Chelsea (10th), Aston Villa (14th), Newcastle (17th) and West Ham (20th).
