Real Madrid has surpassed Manchester City to become the football club generating the highest revenue in the world in the 2022-2023 season, according to a report published on January 25 by auditing company Deloitte.

Real Madrid fans take photos of the Santiago Bernabeu stadium. Photo: AFP

Every year, Deloitte publishes the Football Money League report, a ranking of football clubs generating the highest revenue globally. The latest report shows that the total revenue of the top 20 teams on the list reached a record 10.5 billion Euros in the 2022-2023 season, an increase of 14% compared to the previous season and double the 2012-2013 season.

In particular, Spain’s Real Madrid Club returned to the top of the rankings after 5 years, achieving a record revenue of 831 million Euros, 118 million Euros more than the 2021-2022 season. Behind is Man City with 826 million Euros, while PSG pocketed 802 million Euros, Barcelona 800 million Euros and Man United 746 million Euros.

Despite being left empty-handed in domestic and European tournaments last season, Real Madrid still achieved “huge” revenue thanks to renovating the Santiago Bernabeu stadium, limiting matchday revenue to 122 million Euros. The fact that PSG and Barcelona entered the top 5 shows that clubs from other European countries are “regaining their position” compared to the English Premier League (EPL).

EPL only has 8 representatives in the top 20 on the new list, compared to 11 teams in the 2021-2022 season. The Italian, German and French leagues all increased representation in this elite group. The biggest financial gains all came from European clubs, with Napoli (up 71%), AC Milan (50%) and Eintracht Frankfurt (41%) all seeing a surge in revenue, mainly thanks to progress in tournaments. continental match. Napoli reached the quarter-finals of the Champions League last season, AC Milan reached the semi-finals, while Eintracht Frankfurt stopped in the 1/8 round.

Deloitte figures also show that commercial revenue has replaced television royalties to become the largest source of income for the clubs on the list for the first time since the 2015-2016 season. Last season saw the total broadcasting revenue of the top 20 clubs increase by only 5%, while total commercial income reached 4.4 billion Euros. It is known that 13/20 clubs reported record match revenue in the 2022-2023 season.

“Another record-breaking year for Money League clubs shows the financial strength at play in the football industry. In particular, high demand for live sport is driving further growth in commercial and matchday revenues. As clubs no longer seem able to rely on exponential growth in broadcast revenue, creating a commercially focused business model will give them greater control over their financial stability. “, commented Tim Bridge, a member of Deloitte’s sports business team.