Manchester United fell to the bottom of the Deloitte Football Money League, while Liverpool became the highest-grossing English club for the first time.
The Red Devils were once considered the blueprint for commercial success in football, having topped the money league in 10 of the 29 editions, most recently in 2017.
but, united It fell to 8th place in the 2026 leaderboard. This is partly because broadcasting revenue fell from €258m (£216.72m) to €206m (£172.9m) due to missing the Champions League in 2024-25.
The club is set to generate significantly less matchday revenue this season due to their full absence from European competition, and their failure to get past the first hurdle in both domestic cups means they will play just 20 competitive games at Old Trafford in 2025-26.
“With the biggest football club brands and positions in the market, clubs have the opportunity to expand their reach and offer fans more on match days, more for fans on non-match days, and become more touchpoints 365 days a year,” said Tim Bridge, Deloitte’s Sports Business Group Leader. “With the reported stadium development, United have probably only just begun that journey.
“If you go back 10 or 15 years, if you look at Manchester United’s matchday revenue, they were the industry leaders. If you look at their ability to generate commercial revenue, that was the benchmark for everyone to go out into the market and build their strategy. In my opinion, that still isn’t the case.
“There remains an opportunity for Manchester United. They are still the biggest global football club brand, so they have the opportunity to maximize it in a way only a select few can.
“But that requires fit-for-purpose facilities. As the industry evolves, clubs need to ask themselves whether they need to rethink how they engage with their fans and how that relationship works. It’s clear from reports of the new stadium that they have started to do some of that and it is very clear that they are thinking that way. They are behind Real Madrid and Barcelona in making a difference, but the opportunity remains.”
United is the English club ranked fourth in the 2026 Money League, behind Liverpool, Manchester City and Arsenal. real madrid They took first place as they became the first team to record profits of more than €1 billion – €1.161 billion or £975.2m.
Liverpool After returning to the Champions League in 2024-25, they finished fifth and saw a 7% increase in commercial revenue from non-match day events at Anfield.
Along with Real, this is the first time that there is no English team in the top four of the Money League. Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain Everyone can benefit from participating in the newly expanded Champions League and the expanded FIFA Club World Cup in the summer.
Deloitte said the Club World Cup led to an average 17% increase in broadcast revenue for the 10 participating money league clubs.
Premier League teams can expect to perform better overall in the Money League in 2027, which will reflect for the first time the new broadcast deal that runs until 2029, but Bridge said the best performing clubs will continue to be those that achieve on-field success through diversification.
“The secret (to finishing in the top five) is to keep both of those things. Previously you only had to keep one or the other. Now we’re at a point where the highest revenue generating clubs in 2026 are probably broader than football,” he said.
Manchester City’s 6th place is the lowest ranking since the 2019-20 season, which was affected by COVID-19.
In total, nine Premier League clubs feature in the money league’s top 20. tottenham (ninth), chelsea (10 days), aston villa (14th), Newcastle (17th) and west ham (20th).
Top women’s football club generates revenue of more than €150 million for first time
For the fourth year, the Deloitte Football Money League features 15 of the highest-grossing women’s clubs globally. In another record year, these clubs saw their average revenue exceed €10m (£8.4m) for the first time, with cumulative revenue of €158m (£132.72m), a 35% increase on last year’s total.
arsenal women This year they topped FC Barcelona Femeni for the first time with revenues of €25.6m (£21.5m), a 43% increase on last season. Significant investment in fan data and activation has helped us attract more than 35,000 spectators across five separate events during the 2024/25 season.
chelsea girls Of the top 15 companies, it generated the highest commercial revenue (£16m) while coming a close second (£21.3m). FC Barcelona Women (£18.5m) finished in the top three after another successful domestic season.
“The growth of women’s football has been significant in recent years, but transitioning from start-up to established requires continued time, investment and commitment to develop the fundamentals in the right way,” said Jennifer Haskel, head of knowledge and insights at Deloitte’s Sports Business Group.
“As more milestones are achieved, including new and expanded competitions on the biggest stages, industry leaders must continue to innovate while protecting the wants and needs of fans and players to foster a more sustainable future for the game.”
