Nowadays, Soccer clubs have become financial powerhouses and act as commercial hotspots by leveraging their brand value and fanbase to create various means of income. Brand partnerships, viewership, and broadcasting revenue are any soccer club’s major sources of income apart from stadium ticket sales as a result these sports teams make millions of revenue every year.
Soccer clubs stimulate millions of fans all over the season to stand to watch their favourite team and players in action. Especially, European clubs since they cash out millions of euros in paychecks to their contracted players and staff, while attracting Multi-million sponsorships, and brand deals alongside receiving a hefty amount of revenue through matchday sales additionally. Let’s take a look at the list of the top 10 most revenue-making richest soccer clubs in the world in 2024:
10. Arsenal – €532.6m
Arsenal are widely popular English club with a huge fanbase around the world and a celebrated history most famous being ‘The Invincibles’. Some of the most iconic players in world football have played for Gunners, and they continue to grow as an institution generating 532 million euros in 2023 – courtesy of Broadcasting revenue, commercial and matchday sales.
The North London club ranks 10th most rich club in the world, they have made significant progress in recent times after the arrival of Mikel Arteta as manager. They qualified for the UEFA Champions League for the first time in five years and finished as runners in the race to the Premier League title in two successive seasons.
9. Chelsea – €589.4m
Another Premier League club from the west side of London occupies 9th position on the richest soccer club in the world list. The Blues had enjoyed immense success during the Roman Abramovich era, lifting successive league titles and signing big names splashing millions in the market. However, after ownership changes, their on-pitch performances have gone down since 2022 following Todd Boehly’s Consortium takeover.
Nonetheless, they continue to dominate the financial tables despite missing major competitions such as the UEFA Champions League. The Blues have managed to stay afloat in terms of revenue generation accounting noteworthy figure of 589 million Euros last year including all the revenue streams.
8. Tottenham Hotspurs – €631.5m
The third place also goes to a London-based club — Tottenham Hotspurs surpassing their fellow city rivals on the list, they stand in the 8th place in terms of being the Richest soccer club. Though, they haven’t had any big success in winning leagues or competitions but have done well in money money-making business.
Spurs’ newly built Tottenham Hotspurs stadium holds a capacity of 60 thousand per matchday which solely drives a major chunk of financial profits for the club. In addition to this, kit sales, club membership, broadcasting partnership and brand deals — all together grossed nearly 631 million euros in the 2022/23 season.
7. Liverpool – €682.9m
The Reds from Merseyside are amongst the most popular soccer teams in the world which reflects on their financial sheet. In terms of sporting success, they have many Premier League, UEFA Champions League, and several domestic titles in the cabinet. Liverpool are backed by a massive loyal fanbase. Notably, they have dropped significantly in revenue makings and performance wise also.
The Premier League club failed to secure European football last season and reportedly made 682 million euros last year in 2023, far less than what they accounted for in 2022 which was around 700 Million Euros. The commercial deals are the highest-grossing factor of the club attracting a major percentage of the total income.
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6. Bayern Munich – €744m
Bayern Munich is the biggest club and most successful club in Germany. The Bavarians take the 6th spot in this list of richest clubs, as they are among the highest revenue-producing sports teams across Europe. They accommodated large streams of revenue, ranging from sponsorships to brand deals.
Interestingly, more than half of the revenue share derives from Matchday sales — that includes ticket sales, fan memberships and merchandise sales during Matchdays. While the broadcasting deal brought the least amount of profits and subsequently the Bundesliga club charted 744 million Euros in 2022-23.
5. Manchester United – €745.8m
Another English club on the list is Manchester United who holds fifth place, despite struggling form on the field and the ownership takeover saga in the recent past. They dominated the financial charts last year. Being one of the world’s most popular teams, they have recorded 745 Million euros in 2023 through their various means of revenue.
The Red Devils have made significant progress under Erik Ten Hag, clinching two domestic triumphs Carabao Cup and FA Cup respectively. They also secured two back-to-back Champions League qualifications. With new management working on squad revamp and long-term plans to sustain, United fans have exciting days ahead.
4. Barcelona – €800.1m
The La Liga giants may have struggled to maintain their financial accounts due to mismanagement and monetary obligations, forcing them to spend huge money in the transfer market which also hindered their process of registering new signings last season.
Regardless of the problems, the Catalan club have registered enormous sales of 800 million euros in 2022-23. This figure includes — merchandise sales, broadcast deals and brand deals such as their deals.
3. Paris Saint Germain – €801.8m
The French club PSG are third most profitable football entity surpassing the other big clubs on the list. The Qatar-owned side have splashed the revenue records by making more than Barcelona. Last year they recorded 801 million euros.
On the other, the Parisians have continued their dominance in the French top division securing successive league titles. They have managed to break into the top three clubs for the first time in the club’s history.
2. Manchester City – €825.9m
Manchester City have enjoyed significant success under Pep Guardiola’s reign from their first-ever treble-winning season in 2022-23 to dominating the English football scene by lifting consecutive league championships. In terms of wealth, they are the second-most richest club in the world in 2024.
Meanwhile, City overtakes fellow Premier League clubs Chelsea, Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspurs in the list by some margin. Commercial deals have been a key factor in their profits which brings the most amount of profit followed by broadcast and Matchday.
1. Real Madrid – €831.4m
The Richest club in the world is none other than the 15 times UEFA Champions League holders Real Madrid. The Spanish giants have outperformed all the top clubs in the world by securing the title of the most revenue-generating club in the world boasting a record 831 million euros thanks to their matchday ticket sales from the newly inaugurated Santiago Bernabeu and high match attendance.
This is the first time Los Blancos have managed to top the list of the richest clubs in the world since the 2017-18 season. Their management have made key decisions in revenue and profit handling while spending the funds considerably on investing in the signing of world-class players. Under the supervision of Fiorentino Perez, they are expected to dominate the rich list.
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FAQ
Q. Which is the richest soccer club in the world?
A. Real Madrid are the richest club in the world following their massive €831m revenue in 2023.
Q. Which is the richest English club in the world?
A. The Richest English club in the world is – Manchester City with gross revenue of €825m
Q. Which is the most followed soccer club in the world in 2024?
A. La Liga giants Real Madrid also takes up the top spot being the most supported soccer club.