Manchester City have topped the Deloitte Football Money League for the first time as the world’s highest revenue-generating club in 2020-21 season.
Citizens emerged from the Covid-19 pandemic in better financial health than their rivals. The Premier League champions, backed by their Abu Dhabi owners, become only the fourth club to top the rankings after Real Madrid, Barcelona and Manchester United.
City’s revenue of 644.9 million euros ($712 million) in the 2020/21 season, a 17 percent increase, propelled them from sixth spot to the top on the list of the 20 highest revenue-generating clubs in world football.
However, some of City’s commercial deals which account for nearly half of revenue are a marred in controversy with a number key partners, such as shirt and stadium sponsor Etihad, having links to the club’s owners which seemed to have helped City top Deloitte Money League for the first time.
Real Madrid (640.7 million euros) were second and Bayern Munich (611.4 million) third. Barcelona slipped to fourth (€582.1m) with Manchester United fifth (€558m), their lowest to date, Paris St Germain are at sixth and Liverpool seventh.
Chelsea sit at eighth and Juventus and Tottenham sit at ninth and tenth respectively.
Premier League clubs also occupy six of the next ten spots, including Arsenal (11), Leicester (15) and first-time entrants Wolves (17), with Borussia Dortmund, Inter, Atletico Madrid and Zenit St Petersburg completing the top 20.
