English
हिन्दी
In modern football, money’s influence cannot be under-emphasized. We have seen football clubs from various leagues around the world buying players with ridiculous millions of dollars. Football clubs like Chelsea, PSG, Manchester City, Manchester United, Real Madrid, Barcelona, and so on generate a lot of revenue year in and year out, making it easy for them to spend when necessary.
It is a common or shared opinion among football fans that the oil-money clubs are the richest. Is that true? Which team is the world’s richest football club?
Which Team Is The Richest Football Club In The World?
| Rank | Club | League | Revenue |
| 1 | Manchester City | Premier League | £619.1m |
| 2 | Real Madrid | Spanish La Liga | £604.5m |
| 3 | Liverpool | Premier League | £594.3m |
| 4 | Manchester United | Premier League | £583.2m |
| 5 | Paris Saint Germain | League 1 | £554m |
| 6 | Bayern Munich | Bundesliga | £553.5m |
| 7 | FC Barcelona | Spanish La Liga | £540.5m |
| 8 | Chelsea | Premier League | £481.3m |
| 9 | Spurs | Premier League | £442.8m |
| 10 | Arsenal | Premier League | £367.1m |
| 11 | Juventus | Serie A | £339.3m |
| 12 | Atletico Madrid | Spanish La Liga | £333.6m |
| 13 | Borussia Dortmund | Bundesliga | £302.2m |
| 14 | Inter-Milan | Serie A | £261.2m |
| 15 | West ham United | Premier League | £255.1m |
| 16 | AC Milan | Serie A | £224.4m |
| 17 | Leicester City | Premier League | £213.6m |
| 18 | Leeds United | Premier Legue | £189.2m |
| 19 | Everton | Premier League | £181m |
| 20 | Newcastle United | Premier League | £179.8m |
According to a recent ranking by authoritative firms such as the Deloitte football money league, Manchester City remains the richest football club in the world as they generate the highest annual revenue. According to Deloitte Football Money League, the income of the Manchester Club increased from 571.1 million Euros in 2020-2021 to 619.1 million Euros in 2021-22.
Real Madrid is the second on the list; the Los Blancos raked £604.5 million in 2021-22. Surprisingly, Liverpool has overtaken teams such as Manchester United and Paris Saint-Germain as the Merseyside Reds generated £594.3 million. Among the 20 richest football clubs in the world, 11 are from the English Premier League, with three in the top 5; the list featured three Spanish La Liga and Seri A teams, two Bundesliga teams, and a team from League 1.
PSG is the only club from League 1 and is the richest football club in France, while Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund are the representatives from Germany in the top 20.
Juventus is the richest team in Italian football but sits below the top 10 behind Arsenal and Spurs in the 2023 ranking, while West ham united is another representative from London behind Arsenal. Below is the complete ranking of the world’s richest football club according to Deloitte football money league.
Top 10 Richest Club In The World
Football, is the most popular sport in the world, hence the direction of funds to the beautiful game. Rankings will most likely differ based on certain factors, but the criteria are mostly the same, and some clubs will always be on the list of the world’s richest football clubs. Below are the top 10 richest clubs in the world according to 2022 revenue courtesy of Forbes;
Real Madrid – $896 million
The Los Blancos are the biggest team in the UEFA Champions League, winning the title a record 13 times; the Spanish giants are one of the most supported football clubs in the world, and they generate $80 million more than any other football club in the world. Even without significant success in the UCL in 2019 or 2020, the 13 times Champions League winning team still generated revenues from La Liga TV, hence their position in the ranking of the world’s richest football clubs.
You will almost always find Real Madrid at the top of the ranking of the world’s richest football clubs, although they slipped behind the Spanish club Barcelona and Manchester United in 2018. Los Blancos generates revenue from different sources, such as jersey sales because of the top players they recruit, matchday ticket sales, establishing themselves as the most successful club in Spain, etc.
Real Madrid is the dream team for most young players because they are one of the most successful football clubs.
FC Barcelona – $815 million
Barcelona has been a famous club for transfer market sagas, From Ronaldiho to Neymar, Griezman, Coutinho, and the biggest of all is the almighty Lionel Messi. Several UCL trashes, missing out on the league title, ridiculous wages to aging players, and so on have affected their revenue. However, the Catalan giants are one of the richest clubs in the world.
They generate revenue from jersey sales, matchday ticket sales as they have one of the bigest stadiums in the world, trophy revenue, TV rights, and so on. Now Barcelona is the richest club in Cataluna.
Manchester United – $795 million
The 3 times UCL winning team has not won a league title since 2013, has not been constant in the Champions League, and have suffered several defeats in recent years. However, Manchester United are so big that they remain one of the biggest and richest football club in the world even with the on-field disappointments.
In recent years, their fans have endured a lot of frustration, especially from the owner, Ed Woodward; however, the businessman keeps generating revenues via unbelievable sponsorship deals from big brands and the arrival of Christiano Ronaldo boosted their matchday revenue. The ever-increasing revenue made it possible to sign players like Depay, Di Maria, Paul Pogba, Bruno Fernandes, etc.
Although the on-field display has not been positive, the revenue is one positive aspect that the fans can hold on to. It is why they are a successful football club in the world and a constant representative among the premier league clubs. The Manchester giants are having a fantastic season currently and should return to European football next season.
Bayern Munich – $751 million
At the fourth place is the biggest club in Germany, Bayern Munich. The European champions are not very popular for making big money signings; however, they invest in their squad and pay their players beautifully. Where teams like Barcelona and Real Madrid can spend any amount in the transfer window to get the players they want, the German giants are calmer with less spending spree while still having some of the best players in their squad.
Their excellent performance in the transfer market got them players like Cancelo, Lewandowski, Sane, and so on for less money, which is why they are among the most valuable football clubs and have established themselves as successful club in the world.
Manchester City – $678 million
At the other side of Manchester are the blues, Manchester City, who have developed their team from the scratch to be the best club in the world in recent years. The anual revenue of the Manchester giants has skyrocketed recently; they were 9th in 2013 and 16th in 2011, making less than $400 million in annual revenue; now investments have been massive, and the silverwares are coming in too.
Most football fans describe Manchester City as the Oil Money Club because of their owner, Mansour Bin Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan.
The club now has more fans; thanks to the arrival of Pep Guardiola and the invention of beautiful football, more fans mean more matchday ticket revenue. The club has broken several records, set some, and is now one of the biggest football clubs in the world. They keep funding the team, recruiting new and top players to pursue their Holy Grail: The UEFA Champions League.
Paris Saint Germain
PSG is another Oil Money Club on the list, they are another team pursuing the UCL glory, and you can see how serious they are through their performance in the transfer market. PSG came close to winning the UCL in 2020, but Bayern Munich was the better team in the final.
The League 1 Champions have been very active in the transfer window, breaking every transfer record possible to sign Kylian Mbape, not to talk of a record-breaking $222 million transfer of Neymar JR. Only a club with buoyant annual revenue can pull that off, and fortunately, PSG is one, especially with the help of an owner who is ready to spend and a Qatar sports investment.
Winning the UCL and signing more shirt sleeve sponsor will drastically boost their annual revenue; however, they are still among the successful football clubs and the wealthiest football club in France.
Liverpool – $613 million
The Merseyside Reds are now back at their best, winning the UEFA Champions League in 2019 and the EPL in 2020 after three decades. Liverpool has always been among the richest football clubs in the world, but the arrival of Klopp and constant participation in the UCL have further boosted their matchday revenue and established them as the wealthiest football club in Merseyside.
Liverpool owners have been calm regarding spending in the transfer window; for instance, they refused to pay the release clause of Timo Werner. Their buoyant revenue made it possible to sign players like Salah, Mane[departed], Van Diyk, Nunez, Gakpo, and so on. Liverpool is currently the wealthiest football club and the most successful in the Merseyside area.
Also Read: Biggest Stadiums in the World
Chelsea – $597 million
Chelsea is arguably the biggest football club in London, and this has boosted their revenue in recent years. The money from Eden Hazard’s transfer to Real Madrid boosted Chelsea’s revenue on the Forbes list, and the club has seen tremendous growth in all sectors since Roman Abramovic acquired the team in 2003.
Chelsea is known for winning trophies, even in difficult seasons, making them the best choice for sponsorship from big brands, hence the buoyant revenue. Former owner Roman Abramovich left the club in 2022, selling to British billionaires who have invested more than $500 million since taking over.
Chelsea is currently the richest soccer club in London. With more trophies, significant investments from the new owners ,and a new shirt sleeve sponsor, Chelsea should move to the top among the richest football clubs to rival teams like Paris Saint Germain and Manchester City.
Arsenal – $520 million
Arsenal has gone through several periods of turbulence since the departure of Arsene Wenger; they last won the EPL in 2005 and have not played in the UEFA Champions League for more than five years now. However, Arsenal thrives financially in world football even with the on-field disappointment.
With the arrival of Mikel Arteta, the club has regained some prestige, and they will be playing in the UCL next season, which means more attraction to big brands, hence an improvement in their revenue that will land them in a better position among the richest football clubs.
Tottenham Hotspur – $511 million
Tottenham Hotspur and their owner, Daniel Levy, are not active in the transfer market, especially regarding big-money spending. However, a UCL final run and flamboyant Premier League TV deal have made them a lot of money, hence their presence in the top 10. Tottenham Hotspur rakes $31 million more than Italian giant Juventus, $100 million more than the Yellow giants, Borussia Dortmund, and several million more than many premier league clubs.
Spurs have invested heavily in their new stadium, and some investment in the first team is important if they want to beat teams like Manchester City and Paris Saint Germain in the ranking.
Other clubs such as AC Milan, Leeds United, and New Castle United did not make it to this list because they dont generate enough annual income, take part in player transfers or be a part of any recent success like biggest clubs and other English clubs in the top 10.
Conclusion
The revenues and money in football are mouth-watering; whether you are considering the player wages, trophy money, deals from different brands, and so on, money rules the modern game. The list above shows the richest football clubs; the Premier League teams have always dominated the ranking more than any other league. The Spanish league always has the second highest representation, followed by Serie A. Regardless of whether the ranking is from Deloitte money league or Goal.com or Forbes, these clubs will always make the list.
