Deloitte Football Money League 2023

The total revenue for the top 20 revenue generating clubs in 2021/22 stood at €9.2 billion, an increase of 13% compared to the €8.2 billion reported by the Money League clubs of 2020/21 (and was only marginally lower than pre-pandemic levels, also €9.2 billion in 2018/19).

The rise was driven by the return of fans after two COVID-hit seasons, with matchday revenue increasing from €111m in 2020/21 to €1.4 billion in 2021/22. Additionally, cumulative commercial revenue rose by 8% (from €3.5 billion to €3.8 billion), which was primarily facilitated by English clubs (who also benefitted from the movement in exchange rates over the financial year¹). Five of the Premier League’s ‘big six’ reported increases of 15% or more in Euro terms (a total increase of €226m) as new partnerships were entered and non-matchday events such as concerts and stadium tours returned. However, the increase in commercial revenue was offset by an 11% (€485m) fall in broadcast revenue, as the bumper year experienced in 2020/21, as a result of the deferrals of revenue relating to the postponed 2019/20 seasons being recognised in the financial year, was not repeated.

_{¹ The average exchange rate for the year ending 30 June 2022 was €1 = £0.85, compared to €1 = £0.89 in the year ending 30 June 2021.}

The return of fans brought the overall revenue split of clubs in line with pre-pandemic levels, with the top 20 clubs in 2021/22 generating 15% of their revenue from matchday activities, 44% from broadcasting and 41% from commercial sources, which was almost identical to the split recorded in 2018/19. However, whilst the average revenue of a Money League club increased from €409m in 2020/21 to €462m in 2021/22, it is still marginally below the record levels experienced three years prior (€464m).

Manchester City retain their position at the top of the Money League and for the second time were the club to generate the highest revenue in world football. This caps off a rapid rise up the rankings, with the club having only broken into the top five for the first time in 2015/16. This growth has been fuelled by an increase in commercial revenue (up €65m to €373m in 2021/22), which is a new Premier League record.

Liverpool were the biggest movers among the consistent clubs included in this and last year’s edition of the Money League. The club rose four places (from 7th to 3rd) to achieve its highest position in Money League history, and in doing so overtook Manchester United for the first time, on the back of a run to the UEFA Champions League Final 2022. It was also only one of five clubs to report over €100m in matchday revenue, which was the first time the club had done so, as fans returned to football stadia in their masses. This is expected to increase further in coming years, with the expansion of the Anfield Road Stand due to be completed prior to the 2023/24 season.

For the first time since 2018/19 a new club entered the Money League top 10, with Arsenal replacing Juventus (who fell from 9th to 11th), primarily by virtue of the significant matchday revenue generated, which was almost three times that of the Serie A club in 2021/22. Whilst Juventus and other Italian clubs played a significant portion of their season under the crowd restrictions noted previously, it also reflects a significant return on the investment into the Emirates stadium and goes some way to justifying the infrastructure investment being explored by clubs such as Real Madrid, FC Barcelona, the Milan clubs and Everton, who are looking to future-proof their businesses.

In contrast to Liverpool and Arsenal, FC Barcelona reported one of the sharpest falls in the rankings, with the club dropping from 4th to 7th. This was primarily due to a 13% decline in broadcast revenues, which were partially attributed to underperformance in UEFA club competitions in comparison to previous years, as the club competed in the second tier of UEFA club competition in 2021/22 for the first time since the 2003/04 season (by virtue of the club dropping out of the UEFA Champions League Group stage). Furthermore, the growth in their commercial revenue was significantly outpaced by other clubs (€7m compared to €65m for Manchester City, €37m for Liverpool, €47m for Manchester United, €46m for Paris Saint-Germain and €33m for Bayern Munich). The club commenced a multi-year commercial agreement with Spotify, covering the men’s and women’s team shirt and training kit sponsorship as well as naming rights for the Camp Nou, in the 2022/23 season. It remains to be seen how this and the sale of the club’s ‘economic levers’ (which did not impact revenue in 2021/22), including the sale of both 49.9% of its ‘Barça Licensing and Merchandising’ company and 25% of its domestic La Liga rights over a 25-year period, impacts the club’s position in the Money League in upcoming editions.

For the first time, more than half of the top 20 clubs (11 of 20) heralded from one country – England – further highlighting the financial superiority of the Premier League and how clubs were able to better ride the wave of COVID. Indeed, there has been a steady increase in the number of English clubs in the Money League over the last decade, as clubs that have not competed in UEFA club competitions and that have moderately sized stadia have made their way into the rankings at the expense of clubs from other ‘big five’ leagues who regularly compete in UEFA club competitions. This is evidenced by Leeds United appearing in the rankings for the first time since the 2002/03 season, with the club competing in the second tier of the English football pyramid as recently as 2019/20.

When considering the top 30, there are 16 English clubs, representing 80% of all clubs in the Premier League. The remainder of the top 30 ranking includes five clubs from La Liga, three from both Serie A and the Bundesliga and one from Ligue 1, all of whom competed in UEFA club competitions in 2021/22 and, with the exception of Villarreal CF, played in a stadium with a capacity of over 40,000 or more (and over 60,000 for all other than Paris Saint-Germain, Juventus, Sevilla and Eintracht Frankfurt). Benfica (24th) and Ajax (27th) were the only clubs outside the ‘big five’ leagues to be ranked in the top 30, driven by consistent performance in Europe with a Quarter-final and Round of 16 appearance in the UEFA Champions League respectively.

In the short term, the revenue superiority of English clubs is unlikely to be challenged and one now has to question whether it will be long before we see all 20 Premier League clubs in the top 30. Among the ‘big five’ European leagues from which Money League clubs tend to hail, only the Premier League and La Liga commenced new broadcast rights cycles in 2022/23. The Premier League saw the total value of its media rights increase, driven by demand from international broadcasters, which saw the value of international rights rise by €422m per season (an increase of 26% for the 2022/23 to 2024/25 cycle when compared to the 2019/20 to 2021/22 cycle). The value of domestic media rights remained flat as rights deals were ‘rolled over’ with existing rights holders for a further three seasons. Meanwhile, La Liga commenced a new domestic broadcast cycle. The league agreed deals with broadcasters for an extended five-year period, and also sold certain rights packages on a non-exclusive basis, and/or operated them directly.

On average 16% of members on Club boards were considered ethnically diverse², and there was significant disparity across clubs. Leicester City led the way (75%), followed by FC Internazionale Milano (60%), Newcastle and Manchester City (both 50%). Eight clubs recorded no ethnically diverse Board members, with a further three not disclosing information with respect to this metric.

Of the 17 Money League clubs which disclosed their board members’ ethnicities in the previous edition of the Money League, 11 (65%) had no ethnically diverse representation and, on average, just 15% of board members were identified as being ethnically diverse.

There are a myriad of benefits to having increased diversity at all levels of an organisation, including ensuring the right mix of skills and experience and constructive challenge, helping to define the connection between an organisation’s stated purpose and its business model, and helping to strengthen corporate culture³. It also brings diversity of thought and visible leadership to the entire industry.

We expect this to see this proportion increase in the years to come – not only as the influx of global investors from diverse backgrounds – and the Boards they appoint - continues to grow, but also as the benefit to business, and society more widely, moves the topic further up clubs’ agendas.

<sub>² Using data from 16 Money League clubs that provided information with respect to the number of ethnically diverse Board Members as a proportion of the total number of members of a club's Board of Directors.

³ Greater focus is needed on stakeholder engagement, diversity and the importance of corporate culture, Deloitte 2020</sub>

Sustainability is another topic that has quickly risen to the top of the agenda for many sports organisations (and those across all sectors). Due to the wide range of associated issues and the significant impact on organisations and wider society, it has become paramount for organisations to understand and address sustainability related risks and opportunities. In particular, there is a growing recognition of the vital role sport can play in this – whether that’s due to sport’s inherent reliance on nature or its historically important role in local communities – sustainability issues are fundamental for sports organisations in achieving success.

The United Nation’s Sport for Climate Action Framework is a voluntary pledge, with those that sign up committing to pledge, plan, proceed with action and report on publicly disclosed commitments⁴, and at present four Money League clubs are signatories. We hope that great swathes of signatories from within football – and across the Money League - join Liverpool, Tottenham, Arsenal and Juventus (as well as those clubs that have pledged but that are not included in the Money League) in the coming editions of the report, as organisations increasingly embark on a journey of net zero transformation and beyond : both because they understand its importance, but also as pressure from stakeholders such as fans, partners, investors and regulators intensifies.

_{⁴ UN Sports for Climate Action Framework}

The Deloitte Football Money League was compiled by Tim Bridge, Tom Hammond, Alex Carr, Dhruv Garg, Alasdair Malcolm and Jenny Pang from the Deloitte Sports Business Group. As always, our thanks go to Henry Wong and others who have helped us, inside and outside of the Deloitte international network. We particularly thank greatly those clubs who have taken the time to help us with the information and explanations, and we hope that you have enjoyed this edition of the publication.