Arsenal Surpasses Liverpool, Spurs, and Chelsea in Football Wealth Rankings as Real Madrid Hits Record Milestone
ARSENAL has outperformed Liverpool and London competitors Spurs and Chelsea in the most recent football earnings rankings.
The Gunners had previously dropped to 10th in the global revenue standings after a five-year hiatus from the European elite.
Their comeback to the Champions League last season, along with a narrow miss in the Premier League, enabled the Emirates team to generate £605.5m, elevating them to seventh place in a list topped by Real Madrid.
The Spanish giants became the first club in Uefa football history to earn over £1 billion Euros in the 2023-24 season. The Bernabeu side, who secured their 15th European title, earned £883.7m following renovations to their stadium.
Manchester City remains second in the rankings, generating £708.1m, with the gap between them and Madrid widening from just £5m in 2022-23 to £175m last season.
Across the city, Manchester United climbed from fifth to fourth place, overtaking Barcelona, which fell two places despite a revenue increase of less than £3m, from £648.5m to £651.4m.
However, it was Arsenal that made the most significant improvement, while Spurs’ absence from European competitions caused their drop from eighth to ninth, as per the latest Deloitte Football Money League reports.
Tottenham achieved record income of £549.2m in 2022-23 after reaching the Champions League last 16 but could not secure European competition for the subsequent season.
This resulted in their income for 2023-24 diminishing to £519.9m, a decline of £30m.
Arsenal, knocked out by Bayern Munich in the quarter-finals, earned £258.2m from broadcasters, £129.7m from match-day income, and £217.9m from commercial agreements.
Liverpool, which ranked seventh last year with £793.8m, has dropped a position after earning £604.2m, with Chelsea also falling one place to £461.2m, a £51.3m decline.
This marks the first time since the 2016-17 season that the Gunners have outperformed Liverpool and Chelsea.
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The Deloitte report highlights the financial strength of the Premier League, with Newcastle, West Ham, and Aston Villa all making the top 20 earners.
While there are nine clubs from the Premier League in that list, Spain, France, and Italy each have three clubs represented, alongside Munich and Dortmund from the Bundesliga.
Premier League revenues are projected to rise by up to 20 percent next season due to new international broadcasting agreements, while television contracts in the other Big Five leagues are declining.
Deloitte’s Tim Bridge remarked, “On-pitch performance is vital for clubs to ascend to the top tiers of the rankings, but high-performing teams can also diversify their revenue through innovative partnerships and the development of their owned or operated land and stadium facilities.
“While commercial revenue is dominant among the top ten Money League clubs, broadcasting income remains crucial for teams positioned lower in the rankings.
“As competitions broaden, creating more broadcasting and match-day opportunities, this can further enhance clubs’ revenue potential.
“In a time of increasing demand for more matchdays, this must be balanced with player welfare, as they are ultimately the key to on-field success, which can yield greater off-field rewards for clubs.”