Money Story

02 December 2008 00:28 BST

League titles propel Real and United to top of money league

Wins in their respective domestic leagues last season have propelled Real Madrid and Manchester United to the top of the football money league.

Auditor Deloitte says the champions of the Spanish and UK leagues were the richest clubs in terms of revenue following the 2006/07 season.

Real held on to their place at the top of the money league by generating €351m (£236m), while United's revenue went up by more than a fifth to €315m (£212m).

United's rise to second comes at the expense of Barcelona, while Chelsea and Arsenal complete the top five.

Dan Jones, partner in the Sports Business Group at Deloitte, commented: "This is the first time that any country has had three clubs in the top five of the money league.

"Arsenal's move to the Emirates Stadium has transformed their revenues whilst Chelsea's revenue increase sees them return to the top five."

He added: "With the new Premier League television deals now online for the 2007/08 season, Manchester United have the opportunity to significantly close the gap on Real and a successful Champions League run may even see them challenge again for the number one position."

Overall the 20 richest clubs saw their combined revenue rise by 11 per cent to €3.7 billion (£2.5 billion) in 2006/07, three times the total of the inaugural money league ten years ago.

England has six representatives in the top 20, while Germany and Italy contribute four clubs each.

Three clubs from Spain, two from France and one from Scotland complete the list.

Football money league (revenue in 2006/07)

1 Real Madrid £351.0
2 Manchester United £315.2
3 Barcelona £290.1
4 Chelsea £283.0
5 Arsenal £263.9
6 AC Milan £227.2
7 Bayern Munich £223.3
8 Liverpool £198.9
9 Inter £195.0
10 AS Roma £157.6
11 Tottenham Hotspur £153.1
12 Juventus £145.2
13 Lyon £140.6
14 Newcastle United £129.4
15 Hamburg £120.4
16 Schalke £114.3
17 Celtic £111.8
18 Valencia £107.6
19 Marseille £99.0
20 Werder Bremen £97.3