Il European football continues to record record numbers, demonstrating how the club business model is evolving in an increasingly sophisticated way. The 29th edition of the Football Money Leaguepublished by the Deloitte Sports Business Group, highlights a historic fact: for the first time, the 20 richest clubs in the world have collectively exceeded 12 billion euros in revenues, marking an increase of 11% compared to the previous season.
“In general, clubs are increasingly playing a leading role in managing their own sources of revenue,” he explains Tim Bridge, lead partner of the Deloitte Sports Business Group. “The enhancement of the brand and assets linked to the stadium allows us to seize opportunities that go well beyond the traditional match day experience. We are witnessing a profound transformation of football, in which sports facilities become real entertainment hubs”.
Dominating the ranking is the Real Madridwhich maintains its leadership, approaching 1.2 billion euros in revenues, confirming its role as the richest club in the world. Behind him are Barcelona with 975 million, Bayern Munich with 861 million, Paris Saint-Germain with 837 million and Liverpool with 836 million.
The rest of the top 10 is almost entirely occupied by English clubs: Manchester Citydown slightly to 829 million, Arsenal at 822 million, Manchester United at 793 million, Tottenham at 673 million and Chelsea at 584 million. The supremacy of the British clubs demonstrates how the English championship, thanks to television contracts and aggressive commercial strategies, continues to represent an economic point of reference for world football.
The Italian teamsdespite improving their numbers, remain outside the top 10. The first in the Serie A standings is l’Inter, eleventh with 538 million euros in revenues, up compared to fourteenth place in 2025. Followed by Milan, fifteenth with 410 million, and Juventus, sixteenth with 402 million.
“Italian clubs are working to modernize their business models and improve commercial revenues, but the gap with the top European clubs remains significant,” comments Bridge. The main causes include less aggressive management of television rights and sponsorships and a still limited use of stadiums on non-match days.
According to Deloitte, commercial revenues remain the most important item, with a total of 5.3 billion euros, equal to 43% of total revenues. For clubs in the top 10, this percentage is close to 50%, while for those ranked eleventh to twentieth it stands at around 32%.
