Football World

Manchester United Overtake Real Madrid, Barcelona in Deloitte Money League 2017

youngsports 2017. 1. 20. 18:14

Manchester United Overtake Real Madrid, Barcelona in Deloitte Money League 2017

Manchester United Overtake Real Madrid, Barcelona in Deloitte Money League 2017
Clive Brunskill/Getty Images 

Manchester United ended Real Madrid's 11-year reign at the top of the Deloitte Money League after the Premier League outfit generated more revenue than any other football club in 2015-16.

Per the Press Association (via ESPN FC), United topped the rankings by becoming the first club to earn over £500 million in a season, the exact figure totalling £515 million. 

Per BBC Sport, Barcelona just edged Real into third place thanks to revenues of €620.2 million (£463.8 million), while Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich placed fourth and Manchester City generated the fifth-highest revenue of any football club during the season.

Here is the complete top 10, with Ligue 1's Paris Saint-Germain joining Premier League sides Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool and Italian giants Juventus in the bottom half:

2017 Deloitte Football Money League
#ClubRevenue in €M (£M in brackets) 2015-16Revenue 2014-15
1Manchester United689 (515.3)519.5 (395.2)
2Barcelona620.2 (463.8)560.8 (426.6)
3Real Madrid620.1 (463.8)577 (439)
4Bayern Munich592 (442.7)474 (360.6)
5Manchester City524.9 (392.6)463.5 (352.6)
6Paris Saint-Germain520.9 (389.6)480.8 (365.8)
7Arsenal468.5 (350.4)435.5 (331.3)
8Chelsea447.4 (334.6)420 (319.5)
9Liverpool403.8 (302)391.8 (298.1)
10Juventus341.1 (255.1)323.9 (246.4)

Deloitte via BBC Sport

The PA Sport report's author, Tim Bridge, explained how United have returned to the top of the money list (via ESPN FC): "You can't really look past Manchester United returning to the top spot, and it is because of their ability to make commercial deals that are way ahead of their peers."

Their landmark sponsorship deals with Adidas and Chevrolet played a big part in their immense revenues, as did a brief return to the UEFA Champions League in 2015-16 under former manager Louis van Gaal.

Per the Associated Press' Rob Harris, 2015-16 Premier League champions Leicester City sneaked into the top 20 for the first time:

According to the BBC Sport report, the Foxes' revenue of €172 million (£128 million) was almost five times what they generated two seasons before.

The Premier League is the most represented league in the top 20, while AC Milan, Inter Milan and AS Roma join Juve as Italy's representatives.

Remarkably, 11th-placed Borussia Dortmund are Bayern's closest challengers financially in Germany, and yet their revenues are not even half that of the Bundesliga champions.