10 richest football teams in Europe


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Europe is home to the richest and most powerful football clubs in the world
 
But which are the richest teams on the European continent?
 
We take a look at the 10 richest teams in Europe based on the Deloitte Football Money League, who rank clubs by revenue generated from football operations.
 
It is produced annually by the accountancy firm Deloitte and released in early February of each year, describing the season most recently finished. 
 
So the numbers below and revenue generated refer to the 2018/19 season.
 

Juventus

 
Revenue: €459.7 million
 
The Old Lady are known to be the most popular and successful Italian club having won the most Serie A titles (35) and Coppa Italia trophies (13).
 
Juventus have had a revenue booster in Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo, which resulted in the €459.7 million generated last year.

The former European champions revealed that they had sold $60 million worth of Ronaldo jerseys in 24 hours at the beginning of last season.

"Juventus are trying to position themselves alongside clubs with massive global appeal and huge budgets like Real Madrid, Barcelona and Manchester United,"  Marco Bellinazzo of Il Sole 24 Ore, and author of La fine del calcio italiano ('The end of Italian Football'), told Goal.

"To compete with these clubs, you need to have a strong squad, but also important players within that squad who have a lot of followers on social media.

"Quality coupled with popularity enables a club to increase its revenue. Ronaldo, therefore, was the perfect signing for Juventus to achieve both of their objectives."
 

Chelsea

 
Revenue: €513.1 million
 
The Blues have established themselves as one of the biggest English clubs under Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich, who bought the club in 2003.
 
Chelsea are the ninth highest-earning football club in the world, with earnings of over €513.1 million from last year having won the 2019 UEFA Europa League.
 
However, the club's recent accounting records highlight £31 million they have lost in compensation to former head coach Antonio Conte for sacking him and to pay off his backroom staff, and the legal costs that followed.
  

Tottenham Hotspur

 
Revenue: €521.1 million
 
The Lilywhites have emerged as one of England's top clubs in the last four years as they began to challenge for the English Premier League (EPL) title.
 
Tottenham, who have AIA as their main shirt sponsor, initially in a deal worth over £16 million annually, increased to a reported £40 to £45 million per year in 2019 in an eight-year deal.
 
Reaching last year’s Champions League final also helped Tottenham’s climb up the Money League as they also opened their $1.3 billion stadium in 2019.
 

Liverpool

 
Revenue: €604.7 million
 
The Reds remain one of the biggest and most successful clubs in England having won the most English Football League (EFL) cups (eight) and six Champions League titles.
 
Liverpool became the third English club to break the €600 million barrier mark following a successful 2018/19 season which saw them being crowned Champions League winners.
 
They reportedly earned £31 million from TV revenue after reaching the final and also received around £67m in prize money for winning the coveted trophy.

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Manchester City

 
Revenue: €610.6 million
The Citizens have emerged as one of the best English clubs in the last decade having won four English Premier League titles during this period.
 
City were dominant during the 2018/19 season and became the first team to claim all of the major English trophies available in a single season, winning not just the Premier League, FA Cup and League Cup but also the Community Shield.
 
As a result, City achieved a record revenue stream of €610.6 million. The club also announced the sale of a 10% stake in its parent company City Football Group on 27 November 2019 for $500 million.
 

Paris Saint Germain (PSG)

 
Revenue: €635.9 million

The Parisians have established themselves as a major force in France, and one of the top clubs of European football since 2010.
 
PSG clinched the Ligue 1 and Trophée des Champions during the 2018/19 season and moved up one place to fifth after seeing a rise of €94 million in their earnings.
 
They boast global superstars such as Neymar and Kylian Mbappe, who have helped boost the club's commercial revenue having arrived at the Parisians in record-breaking deals.
 

Bayern Munich

 
Revenue: €660.1 million

The Bavarians are the most successful club in German football history, having won a record 29 national titles and 19 national cups.
 
Bayern, who are also the biggest German club, reported revenue of €750.4 million and an operating profit of €146.1 million at the end of the 2018/19 season.
 
The reigning Bundesliga champions' post-tax profits were €52.5 million which meant that this was Bayern's 27th consecutive year with a profit.
 

Manchester United

 
Revenue: €711.5 million

The Red Devils have won more trophies than any other English club  - with a record 20 League titles and a record 21 FA Community Shields.
 
United announced club-record revenue of £627.1m for the year ending June 30, 2019 - this is despite the team performing poorly on the pitch under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
 
However, the club secured a long-term shirt sleeve sponsorship deal with Kohler last season that's reportedly worth an average of $13 million annually.

“Manchester United are paying the price for failing to progress far in the Champions League last season,"

Kieran Maguire, a lecturer in football finance at the University of Liverpool, told Press Association Sport.

“But despite Ed Woodward’s claim that the club doesn’t need to win matches to generate income, United’s slick commercial department may be struggling to keep up with the likes of Real, Barca and Bayern Munich, who are all regular winners.”
 

Real Madrid

 
Revenue: €757.3 million
 
The Whites remain the biggest club in Spain where they have won a record 33 La Liga titles and in Europe having clinched a record 13 Champions League trophies.
 
Real were estimated to be worth €3.8 billion ($4.2 billion) in 2019 - this was after the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo, who generated a lot of income for the club through jersey sales.
 
They are now the second highest-earning football club in the world, with annual revenue of €757,3 million in 2019 despite having won the FIFA Club World Cup last season.
 

Barcelona

 
Revenue: €840.8 million

Barca are one of the biggest teams in the world having won a record 74 trophies: 26 La Liga, 30 Copa del Rey, 13 Supercopa de España, 3 Copa Eva Duarte and 2 Copa de la Liga trophies.
 
Barcelona had a successful 2018/19 season winning La Liga and the Supercopa de España, and they became the first club to break the 800m euros barrier - moving above rivals Real Madrid.
 
They also announced a record turnover of €990 million ($1.089 billion) in September 2019 and have the highest paid athlete in the world, Lionel Messi on their books.

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Published: 05/05/2020