Deloitte published the 2023 Football Money League, which analyses the finances of the clubs which generate the highest revenue, in January 2023.
The report showed revenue growth among the highest earners, with that increase driven by the return of supporters to stadia following public health measures that had been imposed during the Covid-19 crisis. Matchday revenue increased from €111 million in 2020-21 to €1.4 billion in 2021-22.
- Get the bet365 welcome offer with bonus code GOAL365
So which football team is the richest? GOAL brings you the details.
Which football club is the richest in the world?
Manchester City remained the richest football club in the world in 2023, according to the Deloitte Money League, which was published on January 19, 2023. The Abu Dhabi-backed Premier League outfit saw its total revenue increase from £571.1 million in 2020-21 to £619.1 million in 2021-22.
Real Madrid follow City in the list for the second year in a row, having raked in £604.5 million in 2021-22, while Liverpool have leapt ahead of clubs such as Manchester United and Paris Saint-Germain into third place on the list with revenues of £594.3 million.
Deloitte Football Money League - top 20 richest clubs in 2023
You can see the full list of the top 20 richest football clubs in the world, per Deloitte, below.
Of the 20 clubs, 11 are from the Premier League, with three from La Liga, three from Serie A, two from the Bundesliga and one from Ligue 1. Three English teams feature in the top five, while Barcelona, who were the richest club in the 2021 list, have fallen to seventh in the latest ranking.
Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund are Germany's representative, while PSG are the only team from France in the top 20. Juventus remain the richest club in Italy, but find themselves outside the top 10 globally, trailing behind London duo Tottenham and Arsenal.
| Rank | Club | League | Revenue 2021-22 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Manchester City | Premier League | £619.1m |
| 2 | Real Madrid | La Liga | £604.5m |
| 3 | Liverpool | Premier League | £594.3m |
| 4 | Manchester United | Premier League | £583.2m |
| 5 | Paris Saint-Germain | Ligue 1 | £554m |
| 6 | Bayern Munich | Bundesliga | £553.5m |
| 7 | Barcelona | La Liga | £540.5m |
| 8 | Chelsea | Premier League | £481.3m |
| 9 | Tottenham | Premier League | £442.8m |
| 10 | Arsenal | Premier League | £367.1m |
| 11 | Juventus | Serie A | £339.3m |
| 12 | Atletico Madrid | La Liga | £333.6m |
| 13 | Borussia Dortmund | Bundesliga | £302.2m |
| 14 | Inter | Serie A | £261.2m |
| 15 | West Ham | Premier League | £255.1m |
| 16 | AC Milan | Serie A | £224.4m |
| 17 | Leicester City | Premier League | £213.6m |
| 18 | Leeds United | Premier League | £189.2 |
| 19 | Everton | Premier League | £181m |
| 20 | Newcastle United | Premier League | £179.8m |
Deloitte Football Money League - top 20 richest clubs in 2022
You can see the top 20 richest clubs from 2022 in the table below.
| Ranking | Team | Total revenue |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Manchester City | €644.9m |
| 2 | Real Madrid | €640.7m |
| 3 | Bayern Munich | €611.4m |
| 4 | Barcelona | €582.1m |
| 5 | Manchester United | €558.0m |
| 6 | Paris Saint-Germain | €556.2m |
| 7 | Liverpool | €550.4m |
| 8 | Chelsea | €493.1m |
| 9 | Juventus | €433.5m |
| 10 | Tottenham | €406.2m |
| 11 | Arsenal | €366.5m |
| 12 | Borussia Dortmund | €337.6m |
| 13 | Atletico Madrid | €332.8m |
| 14 | Inter | €330.9m |
| 15 | Leicester City | €255.5m |
| 16 | West Ham United | €221.5m |
| 17 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | €219.2m |
| 18 | Everton | €218.1m |
| 19 | Zenit | €212.0m |
| 20 | Aston Villa | €207.3m |
In 2022, the top 10 richest football clubs were dominated by five Premier League teams, including Chelsea, Manchester United and Liverpool, while Arsenal were placed at 11th in the table and Leicester sat 15th just above West Ham United, Wolves and Everton.
The rest of the top 20 was rounded out by the likes of Borussia Dortmund, Inter, Atletico Madrid, Zenit and other big European names.
Manchester City's rise was dramatic, if not all that surprising, as they jumped five places into top spot, while Barcelona were the biggest name to be stuck in reverse.
Barca had revealed debts of €1.2 billion (£1.1b/$1.5b) before eventually being forced to part with seven-time Ballon d'Or winner Lionel Messi in the summer of 2021 - as the mercurial Argentine headed to PSG - and a long-term rebuild in Catalunya remains a work in progress.
Outside of the top 20 and within the top 30, there were three more Premier League sides to be found in the form of Leeds United, Southampton and Newcastle United - fresh from their big-money takeover - while Roma, Atalanta, Napoli, Lazio and AC Milan all figure from Serie A.