Real Madrid tops Football Money League with $1 billion in revenue to widen gap over Manchester City

Real Madrid have gained the biggest all-time lead at the top of football’s earnings tree, according to Deloitte’s annual Football Money League, after a season of record earnings in the Spanish capital.

The Spanish and European champions took home $1.13 billion over the course of the 2023-24 season, which saw the completion of the Santiago Bernabéu renovation double matchday revenue to around a quarter of a billion dollars. With a significant increase in commercial revenue, Madrid extended its profit lead over Manchester City beyond $200 million. It’s the biggest gap between first and second in the Money League’s nearly 30-year history, according to Theo Ajadi, deputy director of Deloitte Sports Business Group.

Paris Saint-Germain remains third, while Manchester United and Bayern Munich have overtaken Barcelona and are in the top five. In a sign of the entrenchment of wealth in European football’s elite, the composition of the top 10 remains unchanged, although a season of Champions League football and improved commercial income were enough to push Arsenal above the rest of the “Greats” of the Premier League. Six” from Liverpool, Tottenham and Chelsea, in that order. Borussia Dortmund is the only other soccer club that earns more than $500 million.

Deloitte Football Money League

They will have a long way to go to catch up with Madrid, which became the first European soccer club to reach €1 billion in revenue when it published its financial report for the 2023-24 season in July. Barcelona had previously surpassed the billion-dollar mark in 2017-18, but no club had ever reached the figure in euros. In fact, the Dallas Cowboys are believed to be the only sports team that has earned more income than Madrid.

“Clubs have been targeting revenues of one billion euros for some time, even before COVID,” says Ajadi. “In terms of how this has been achieved, there are long-term licenses for match day seating, which has contributed significantly to that, and also the retail operations.

“It really sums up the brand that Madrid has and their ability to take advantage of it. They have done it very successfully this year.

“It’s by far the biggest gap between first and second place in Money League history. It would take a big jump from second to fifth place, even if you discount licenses. There’s still a pretty sizable gap that should be reduced significantly.”

The Taylor Swift effect

Madrid’s revenue success speaks to the growing trend of football clubs to use their stadiums as year-round facilities, beyond approximately 25 home games per season. In fact, renovation works at the Bernabéu did not restore its capacity to the 125,000 capacity of the 1950s and 1960s, but instead focused on offering more VIP bars, premium seating and restaurants for its 80,000 spectators.

Twenty-four hours before Madrid lifted its 16th European Cup, Taylor Swift ended the second night of her Eras Tour at the Bernabéu, the two shows, according to the Spanish media, were worth just under 10 million dollars for the champions of The League. . With the Miami Dolphins hosting the NFL’s first regular season in Madrid later this year and more concerts on their books, non-football revenue appears to be crucial to keeping Los Merengues at the 10-figure revenue mark.

“Club stadiums are increasingly valued as more than just match day assets, with a number of clubs converting their grounds into multi-use entertainment venues that attract new visitors, sponsors and retail opportunities,” said Tim Bridge, principal partner of Deloitte Sports Business Group. “Football clubs are now realizing the value of becoming much more than sporting brands, with media and entertainment becoming intertwined with the commercial potential they have to offer.”

Madrid was not the only team that benefited from the Swift effect. In a season where they swapped the lucrative Champions League for the Europa League, Liverpool were still able to increase their profits by 5%. Three nights of the Eras Tour certainly helped.

The women’s team contributes to the rise of Arsenal

Concerts are not the only way to get more through the turnstiles of the major stadiums. Arsenal’s jump above three of its rivals is mainly due to increased broadcast revenue from its Champions League deal and new commercial deals, including with long-term sponsor Emirates. However, what arguably made the $2 million difference between them and Liverpool is the profits generated by the women’s team.

With $19.4 million (a figure surpassed only by Barcelona and by wide margins), the women’s team is becoming a revenue driver for Arsenal. In 2023-24, the Gunners played six WSL matches at Emirates Stadium, breaking the competition’s attendance record three times and achieving an average attendance of 30,005, up 93% from 12 months earlier. Taking into account attendance at the Emirates alone and a crowd of 52,029, it would rank eighth for highest attendance among Premier League clubs.

The momentum has not slowed in the new campaign. With three and a half weeks until February 16, more than 40,000 tickets have been sold for the north London derby against Tottenham, sources told CBS Sports.

“While it’s a relatively small portion of revenue now, as those properties grow, it will have a more material impact and potentially attract new fans,” Ajadi said. “That has had a big impact for Arsenal. If you can get 60,000 people into the Emirates more often, it will be very important. “The customers we serve are really looking at women’s football more.

“It’s not just Arsenal. Many Championship and League One teams are organizing more games there. It will be a lot of work for the ground staff, that’s for sure!”

Will Barcelona be able to close the gap with Madrid?

Meanwhile, the table makes instinctively bleak reading for Barcelona, ​​outside the top five for the second time in three years and with around $300 million in revenue to offset its biggest rivals. Likewise, there is a degree of hope around the corner with the imminent completion of renovations at the Camp Nou, which will host matches before the end of this season. Their stay at the Montjuic Olympic Stadium has not been good for fans or Barcelona’s finances, as matchday revenue is around $110 million, significantly lower than pre-pandemic levels, and much less the almost two and a half times that Madrid wins.

Although the levers used by president Joan Laporta to finance transfers in the summer of 2022 threaten to limit the ceiling of Barcelona’s long-term earning potential, their new stadium could well return them to the top of the table.