FOOTBALL AND MONEY!

Deloitte recently published its Football Money League 2025 report detailing the revenue profiles of the world’s top football clubs. Real Madrid sits top of the pile, becoming the first football club to generate €1bn of revenue in a season in 2023/24. Manchester City are the top ranked English club with revenue of c.€838m in 2024, +1% y/y. The mix of Manchester City’s revenue is remarkable with commercial and broadcasting revenues representing c.89% of revenue. Whilst we won’t mention the 115+ charges hanging over the club, it is interesting that matchday revenue was just 11% of total sales, compared to Manchester United and Liverpool where matchday revenue was 19-20%.

This week also marked the close of the winter transfer window with many of these top clubs putting money to work. Premier League clubs spent an estimated £403m in the window, down significantly from the 2023 record of £815m. Manchester City were the top spenders across clubs, spending c.£178m on reinforcements and representing 44% of total Premier League spending. Football has become a big money business where financial clout is becoming increasingly important.

Source: Deloitte Football Money League 2025, The Atheltic, bbc.com, Goodbody