Manchester United overtake Real Madrid as richest club in the world – See top 20

Manchester United have returned to the top of the Deloitte Football Money League for the first time since 2005.

However, Brexit, which has seen the pound fall against the euro,
may see them struggle to stay ahead of Real Madrid and Barcelona next
year.

The Deloitte study, which has been ranking the world’s richest
football teams for 20 years now, says the United’s turnover during the
2015/2016 season, surpassed every other club’s.

United have become the first football team to earn more than
£500million in a season – the club’s total revenue is pegged at £515m.

Real, who have topped the list for 11 years, were beaten to second place by their La Liga rivals by just €100,000.

Dan Jones, partner in the Sports Business Group at Deloitte, said:
“Manchester United have had to wait 11 years to regain their position as
the world’s leading revenue-generating club and it has taken phenomenal
commercial revenue growth to help them achieve this.

“In recent years, their ability to secure commercial partnerships
with value in excess of that achievable by their peers has been the
crucial factor in enabling the club to regain their place at the top of
the Money League.

“That said, they’ll face strong competition from FC Barcelona and
Real Madrid to retain the top spot in next year’s edition, due to the
lack of Champions League football, the weakening of the pound against
the Euro and, over the longer term, as other clubs enter the commercial
market demanding similar deals, using United as the precedent.”

United’s major revenues come from their record-breaking kit and
sponsorship deals with Adidas and Chevrolet. Their income was also
boosted by a return to the Champions League.

Deloitte Football Money League Table