Latest Deloitte Football Money League reveals Liverpool FC rises four places to its highest ever position with almost £600m in revenues. Tony McDonough reports
Liverpool FC generated the third-highest revenues of any football club in Europe in the 2021/22 season, according to new figures.
Published today, the Deloitte Football Money League reveals the top 20 highest revenue generating football clubs for the 2021/22 season. Manchester City is top with £619.1m, Real Madrid second at £604.5m and Liverpool third at £594.3m.
This pushed Liverpool up four places in the league table – its highest-ever position in the 26-year history of the survey. It was a big increase on the club’s revenues for the previous season which came in at £487.4m.
In the final weeks of the 2021/22 season Liverpool closed in on what would have been an historic quadruple. However, the club narrowly missed out on the Premier League title to Manchester City and was beaten by Real Madrid in the Champions League Final. The Reds did win the FA and Carabao cups.
There have been persistent reports that US-based Fenway Sports Group (FSG), which bought Liverpool for £300m in 2010, is considering a sale of the club. However, FSG is keeping its cards close to its chest saying it would “consider new shareholders”.
With revenues of £181m Everton FC dropped one place in the league with revenues for the season of £181m. The club is one of 11 teams from the Premier League in the top 20.
Deloitte says the top 20 clubs in the table earned just over £8bn during the 2021/22 season – 13% higher than than £7.2bn in the previous season. Revenue growth in the 2021/22 season was driven by the return of fans to stadiums following the pandemic.
For the first time in the publication’s history, more than half of the Money League now herald from a single country, with Premier League clubs making up 11 of the top 20.
Five of the Premier League’s ‘big six’ clubs reported revenue increases of 15% or more as new commercial partnerships began and non-matchday events such as concerts and stadium tours returned.
Tim Bridge, lead partner in Deloitte’s sports business group, said: “For the first time, Premier League clubs fill the lion’s share of positions in Deloitte’s Football Money League.
“The question now is whether other leagues can close the gap, likely by driving the value of future international media rights, or if the Premier League will be virtually untouchable, in revenue terms.
“The Premier League was the only one of the big five European leagues to experience an increase in its media rights value during its most recent rights sale process. It continues to appeal to millions of global followers and its member clubs have a greater revenue advantage over international rivals.”
For the first time, Deloitte’s Football Money League also reported on revenues generated from the women’s teams at Money League clubs. Clubs reporting average revenues of £2.1m attributable to the women’s sides in the 2021/22 season.
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FC Barcelona generated the highest revenue out of all 2023 Money League clubs from its women’s team. FC Barcelona Femení, 2021 UEFA Women’s Champions League winners and 2022 finalists, generated revenue of £6.7m in the 2021/22 season.
Manchester United reported the second-highest revenue for its women’s side (£5.2m), followed by Manchester City (£4.5m), Paris Saint-Germain (£3.15m), Arsenal (£1.9m) and Tottenham (£1.84m).
Tim added: “The women’s professional game is still near the start of its journey and revenues reported by top clubs at this early-stage hint at the significant value women’s sides will generate in future seasons.”