There’s no secret these days that football is big money. With the most popular and successful clubs across Europe generating obscene amounts of revenue, we’re very close to seeing one of them crack over a billion pounds in seasonal income soon. Deloitte’s Football Money League has been an annual publication for decades now, with many familiar names consistently appearing in the top 20 since its inception.
As the most accurate barometer of the richest clubs by revenue, the global auditing giant’s Money League remains the most trusted source for such data. The annual publication has shown the enormous growth in revenue streams experienced by the world’s richest clubs since 1997, and the numbers are staggering. From them, we’re able to extract the list of the richest UK football clubs by revenue in 2024, and there have been a few surprises.
Before we delve into those details, here’s a look at some of the contributing factors to how clubs generate their revenue.
Largest Revenue Generators
Aside from the financial investment advantages the biggest clubs have, their popularity and global fan bases also mean they generate more money. Many of the best betting sites in the UK also play a large part in club promotion and sponsorships. For example, West Ham United FC, who are currently the eighth-richest club in the UK by revenue, are sponsored by Betway.
Other major sponsors include iconic sports brands like Nike and Adidas, banks like Standard Chartered, and airlines like Etihad and Emirates. Besides investment from the massive conglomerates that own the various clubs, they also generate a large part of their revenues from things like ticket sales for the games, sponsorship deals, merchandise sales, prize winnings for winning competitions, and a cut of the revenue earned from TV and broadcast rights.
This of course means that the larger, more popular clubs earn a disproportionately higher amount in revenue. Nevertheless, with takeovers becoming more popular, many smaller clubs now have better chances than ever to earn more revenue and grow financially. With that in mind, here’s a look at the 8 richest clubs in the UK by revenue according to the Deloitte Football Money League 2024 and kicking off with both Manchester-based clubs.
1. Manchester City FC
Not much of a surprise here as Manchester City remains the UK’s richest club. Since the Citizens were taken over by the Abu Dhabi United Group in 2008, the conglomerate has pumped enormous amounts of money into the club, turning it into one of the most dominant outfits in club football today.
While they’ve consistently been at the summit of the Premier League since 2014, 2023 proved to be a landmark year. Not only did the club finally win a Champions League, the one trophy that’s eluded them since their success began in the 2010s, but they emphatically staked their claim as the best club in football right now by winning the treble as well.
They’ve gone on to add the Club World Cup to that tally, and are still in the hunt to win more trophies this year. Manchester City’s revenue in the 2022/2023 season totalled a whopping £825.9 million, making them by far and wide, the richest club in the UK and the second-richest club in the world, coming only narrowly behind Real Madrid on that front.
2. Manchester United FC
The Red Devil’s change in fortunes since Sir Alex Ferguson retired has been notorious. However, still one of the biggest and most globally supported clubs in the world, their players often remain among the highest-paid in the Premier League. Despite this, they’ve looked a shadow of their former selves in recent seasons. While there were still some trophies and second-place finishes in the league, it’s been a long time since anyone’s seen the giant club coming anything close to how good we know they can be.
Despite all their woes on and off the pitch, their decades of success between the ‘90s and early 2010s cemented their pedigree as one of the biggest clubs around. Despite not having the kind of financial clout Man City have, they’ve still raked up £745.8 million in revenue, making them the second richest club in the UK, and the fifth richest club in the world behind PSG in third, and Barcelona in fourth.
3. Liverpool FC
Despite sitting top of the Premier League, being in the final of the League Cup, and on course to possibly make it a quadruple with the FA Cup and Europa League this year, Liverpool have had a tough week. The biggest story in football making the rounds right now came after Jurgen Klopp’s shock announcement that he’ll be leaving the club at the end of the season — in just four months.
Fans and pundits are still reeling from the news. While Klopp made the announcement graciously, it left many fans distraught and uncertain about The Reds’ future now. With Bayer Leverkusen’s Xabi Alonso the current favourite to take over, only time will tell if Man City have now been given free rein to continue their domination of the Premier League.
Despite the tough news, Liverpool is the UK’s third richest club by revenue, pulling in £682.9 million last year. They’re currently also the seventh richest club in the world, sitting just one spot behind Bayern Munich in that ranking.
4. Tottenham Hotspur
In a surprise move, Tottenham Hotspur have leapfrogged Chelsea and are now the fourth richest club in the UK in terms of revenue and the richest in London. The North Londoners have consistently been challenging for a top-four spot for years now, often displacing their fiercest rivals Arsenal to achieve it.
In 2019, they memorably hit their peak by making it to the Champions League final. However, they were beaten by Liverpool on that famous night in Madrid, and have struggled to reach the same heights ever since. While they are playing well so far this season, inconsistency has plagued them, and while their talismanic new captain Son Heung Min is still there to lead their attack, Tottenham has lost club legend and former captain, Harry Kane, to Bayern Munich.
Nevertheless, Tottenham took in £631.5 million last year, making them the fourth richest club in the UK, while they also sit one spot behind Liverpool in the world rankings.
5. Chelsea FC
Chelsea’s famous takeover by billionaire, Roman Abramovich, in June 2003, led the London club to a plethora of trophies and turned them into one of the richest clubs in the world ever since. After years of domestic and European success, the Blues have dropped well off the pace domestically in the last couple of seasons.
After another takeover, this one forced on them when Abramovich had to sell the club, they’ve spent massively but are yet to repay that investment in results. Nevertheless, as always, even when the club hasn’t been performing that well, they still find a way to make it to the cup finals and have done so again. Despite poor league form for a while, Chelsea looks to be improving rapidly and have made it to the League Cup final, where they will face Liverpool at Wembley on 25 February 2024.
Their revenue streams haven’t been what they were in the face of poor showings in the last two seasons. As a result, Chelsea sits fifth in the UK rankings and ninth in the world rankings, having brought in £589.4 million in revenue last year.
6. Arsenal FC
In the same order in line, they sit in the world rankings, after Liverpool, Tottenham, and Chelsea, Arsenal are UK’s sixth-richest football club since they received a substantial financial boost in 2023. The Gunners have seen a resurgence in the last two seasons that saw them challenge Man City for the title last year and remain in the hunt for the league this year.
While vastly improved from previous seasons and returning to the Champions League, they have yet been able to truly show the kind of staying power that Man City and Liverpool have displayed in recent years. Despite this, the club and its fans remain upbeat about its prospects to keep improving. Pulling in £532.6 million in revenue last year, Arsenal are the sixth richest club in the UK and the 10th richest in the world by revenue, sitting just in front of Serie A’s Juventus.
7. Newcastle United FC
Unsurprisingly, after their 2021 big-money takeover by the Saudi Public Investment Fund, PCP Capital Partners, and the Reuben Brothers, Newcastle United found themselves among the top 20 richest clubs in the world. In a UK context, they’ve cracked the top 10, and currently sit as the seventh-richest club in the UK by revenue.
The club experienced a fantastic renaissance last season as their signings like Alexander Isak performed well, helping them qualify for the Champions League for the first time in 20 years. Outperforming Liverpool and Chelsea along the way, Newcastle finished fourth in the league last season, with an impressive 71 points. While they’ve already been eliminated from Europe, they were placed in the dreaded group of death that saw them have to tussle with PSG, Borussia Dortmund, and AC Milan.
Their league form has slipped badly too, and they currently sit 10th, after losing four out of the last five games and some wonder if coach Howe is to blame. Despite this, their future looks bright as they now command one of the largest budgets and will surely use it to keep strengthening their squad. All that growth has seen the Magpies rake in £287.8 million in revenue last year, making them the seventh richest club in the UK, and the 17th richest in the world behind Bundesliga outfit, Eintracht Frankfurt.
8. West Ham United FC
Finishing seventh in the league last year, West Ham have so far had a fine showing this season. They currently sit sixth on the table and topped their Europa League group to advance into the round of 16 in that competition. They won the UEFA Conference League last year, have been steadily improving under the stewardship of David Moyes, and have a squad of players that are very popular with their fans right now.
All that translated into £275.1 million in revenue, making the Hammers the eighth richest club in the UK by revenue. They’re also currently the 18th richest club in the world, sitting just in front of SSC Napoli on that front. Given their vast improvement in recent seasons, the club and its fans are in good spirits and the future looks bright indeed.
