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Deloitte has outlined the financial performance of the highest-revenue generating football clubs in the 2019-20 season.
The 'beautiful game' is perhaps the most widely followed sport in the world and it has fans all across the globe. Obviously, there is a lot of money involved as the sport has immense scope for commercialization. This aspect of the game helps football clubs all around the world to grow at great rates.
Football clubs generate an incredible amount of revenue via sponsorship deals and prize money. As such, there is often a direct correlation between the income of a club and their success on the football field. After all, marketability flows out of good performances.
Without further ado, let's take a look five clubs which have generated most revenue during the disrupted 2019-20 season.
Courtesy: Deloitte Football Money League
#5 Liverpool - £489.9 million
Liverpool have made it to the top five for the first time in almost two decades. That coincides with Liverpool's rise into one of the most dominant football clubs in Europe over the past couple of seasons.
The Merseysiders won the UEFA Champions League in the 2018-19 season after finishing as runners-up in the season prior to that. They kicked on in a similar vein of form in the 2019-20 season and became the champions of the English top-flight for the first time in the Premier League era.
Director of Deloitte Sports Business Group, Tim Bridge, says that Liverpool moving to a more 'digital model' along with their on-field success has propelled the team back into the top five for the first time since the 2001-02 season.
#4 Manchester United - £509 million
Manchester United are at fourth on the list but they have seen their biggest year-to-year drop in revenue. This has plenty to do with their lack of Champions League football in the 2019-20 season. The Covid-19 pandemic has also had a big impact on the Red Devils' revenue rates.
This is because Manchester United is one of the most admired clubs in the world and generate an incredible amount of revenue on matchday. As such, the drop in match day revenue when they play at Old Trafford has affected them a lot more than other clubs.
Manchester United did however make it back into the UEFA Champions League for the 2020-21 albeit only for the group stages after being drawn in the group of death and eliminated before the knockout phase. However, they have been doing significantly better in the domestic campaign and are in the title-race this term.
#3 Bayern Munich - £556.1 million
The Bavarians were absolutely dominant in the 2019-20 season and finished the campaign as continental champions. But their overtaking Manchester United has a lot to do with the fact that they completed their domestic season within the timeframe.
The numbers that have been used to formulate the list thus cover a full season of theirs which is not the case with Manchester United. Bayern Munich faced only a drop of 4% in their revenue despite the pandemic.
Under Hansi Flick, Bayern Munich burgeoned into a juggernaut and looked nearly unstoppable as they won the UEFA Champions League in addition to their Bundesliga and DFB Pokal triumphs. They have now marked themselves as the team to beat in Europe.
#2 Real Madrid - £627 million
THe reigning La Liga champions Real Madrid are second on the list and have faced a 6% drop in their revenue. Los Blancos did not make it far in the UEFA Champions League in the 2019-20 season but they clinched a 34th La Liga title with a gap of five points over arch-rivals Barcelona.
Real Madrid have had to rely on commercial success in the past year due to the Covid-19 pandemic impacting matchday revenue massively. Real Madrid have renewed their partnership with Adidas and the brand continues to be one of the most popular ones in the world of football.
#1 Barcelona - £627.1 million
Barcelona are on top of the list for the highest amount of revenue generated. However, among the teams on this list, Barcelona have faced the biggest drop in revenue. They have lost out on £155 million owing to the pandemic and have faced a decrease in revenue of 15%.
Though the revenue generated is still grand, Barcelona are in a precarious situation financially. This is owing to the external debts that the club has incurred over the past few seasons. Barcelona have had to ask their players to take wage cuts twice already this season.
In fact, the club's financial situation is so bad that they are in desperate need of selling some of their players in order to bring new ones in. The club is also currently running the risk of letting Lionel Messi leave in the summer as a free-agent.
