Real Madrid remain top of football's money league but Manchester United are closing the gap and could reclaim the number one spot by winning this season's Champions League.
Real and United were the only two clubs on the planet to generate revenues in excess of 300 million euros (437 million dollars) over the course of the 2006/07 season, according to figures compiled by business advisory firm Deloitte and published on Thursday.
The survey reflects the growing financial muscle of the English Premier League's leading clubs with Chelsea and Arsenal joining United as one of the top five clubs in terms of revenues generated.
But it also highlights a renaissance in the financial fortunes of German clubs, whose representation in the top 20 by revenue has risen to four for the first time on the back of the 2006 World Cup, which bequeathed a legacy of bigger and better stadiums as well as raising interest in the Bundesliga.
Arsenal were the biggest climber in the table, rising four places to fifth spot with the help of increased match-day revenue following their August 2006 move from Highbury to the 60,000-capacity Emirates Stadium. Chelsea rose two places to fourth while Barcelona slipped from second to third.
Juventus, previously third in the list, dropped to 12th after being relegated from Serie A for their role in the Italian match-fixing scandal. Dan Jones, a partner in Deloitte's Sports Business Group, predicted that English clubs' dominance of the upper reaches of the money league would grow as increased revenues from the Premier League's 2007-10 television deals kick in. "This is the first time that any country has had three clubs in the top five of the Money League," said Jones. "Arsenal's move to the Emirates Stadium has transformed their revenues whilst Chelsea's revenue increase sees them return to the top five.
"With the new Premier League television deals now online for the 2007/08 season, Manchester United have the opportunity to significantly close the gap on Real and a successful Champions League run may even see them challenge again for the number one position."
Real's total revenue rose 20 percent from the previous year to reach 351 million euros, compared to 315 million for United. Deloitte's survey also underlines why so many international investors have come to see top clubs as attractive propositions. At the highest level of the sport, revenues continue to grow strong with the top 20 clubs' combined revenues up 11 percent to 3.7 billion euros in 2006/07, the highest rate of growth since 2002/03.
In just over a decade since the first money league was compiled for 1996/97, total revenues for the top 20 clubs have trebled. Deloitte's top 20 is entirely populated by European clubs - six from England, four from Germany and Italy, three from Spain, two from France and only Celtic making the grade in Scotland. Although the number of English clubs in the top 20 dropped form eight to six, Deloitte expect the likes of Aston Villa, Everton, Manchester City and West Ham to return once the new television income is reflected in their figures. Deloitte Football Money league 2008 (clubs ranked by 2006/07 revenues, excluding player sales, in euros. Previous year's position in brackets).
MILLION EUROS:
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1 (1) Real Madrid 351.0
2 (4) Manchester United 315.2
3 (2) Barcelona 290.1
4 (6) Chelsea 283.0
5 (9) Arsenal 263.9
6 (5) AC Milan 227.2
7 (8) Bayern Munich 223.3
8 (10) Liverpool 198.9
9 (7) Inter Milan 195.0
10 (12) AS Roma 157.6
11 (15) Tottenham Hotspur 153.1
12 (3) Juventus 145.2
13 (11) Lyon 140.6
14 (13) Newcastle United 129.4
15 (16) Hamburg SV 120.4
16 (14) Schalke 04 114.3
17 (n/a) Celtic 111.8
18 (n/a) Valencia 107.6
19 (n/a) Marseille 99.0
20 (n/a) Werder Bremen 97.3
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