Global Sport Economy
What the richest football clubs tell an investor
The top 20 clubs earned a record 12.4 billion euros, and commercial income is now the largest line. Five lessons from the latest Money League and the UEFA landscape.
The 20 highest-earning football clubs generated a record 12.4 billion euros in the 2024/25 season, up 11 %, according to the Deloitte Football Money League 2026 (22 January 2026). Real Madrid stayed first with 1,161 million euros.
Five lessons
- Commercial is the engine. Commercial revenue reached 5.3 billion euros, 43 % of the total, the largest line for a third year.
- Matchday is the fastest riser. Venues earn more when they work as businesses all year.
- Broadcast depends on competing in Europe. Manchester United fell from fourth to eighth, mainly through lower broadcast income without Champions League football.
- Recovery is possible and fast. Barcelona's revenue rose 27 % to about 975 million euros, back into the top three.
- The whole market is growing. UEFA expects European club revenue to pass 30 billion euros for the first time, after a record 28.6 billion in 2024, with top-division clubs back in operating profit.
What an investor should read in it
Growth sits in the lines a club controls: partners, hospitality, venues and data. That is the production and technology economy of Days 2 and 3, and the reason the Forum puts club owners and the companies that build those lines in the same room.
Sources and further reading
- Deloitte, Football Money League 2026 (22 January 2026)
- Deloitte, Football Money League hub
- UEFA, European Club Finance and Investment Landscape (February 2026)
Photograph: Pexels, licensed. No person shown is connected with the Forum.
