The 2023/24 season created football history, as Real Madrid became the first club to cross €1 billion in revenue across a single season during the 2023-24 campaign, according to Deloitte.
The order of the clubs at the top of Deloitte’s annual Football Money League stayed the same, with Madrid (€1.05bn, $1.09bn) followed by Premier League champions Manchester City (€838 million) and Paris Saint-Germain (€806m).
The €208m gap between first and second is the biggest Deloitte have ever recorded.
The club’s financial success during the season was underpinned by the newly renovated and expanded Bernabéu Stadium, which delivered significant uplifts to matchday and commercial revenue over the previous season.
Cumulatively, the Money League clubs in 2023/24 generated a record €11.2bn, an increase of 6% over the 2022/23 season, with record matchday, commercial and broadcast revenues. In 2023/24, the average Money League club generated €560m, comprised of €244m (44%) commercial revenue, €213m (38%) broadcast revenue, and €103m (18%) matchday revenue.
A rise in clubs’ stadium capacity, general ticket prices and premium matchday offerings caused matchday revenues to grow 11% year-on-year, making it the fastest growing revenue stream for Money League clubs once again. Matchday revenue surpassed €2bn (€2.1bn) for the first time in the history of the publication, accounting for 18% of total revenue, the highest share since 2014/15 – 19%.
At €4.9bn, commercial remained the largest revenue source for Money League clubs for the second year running, accounting for 44% of total revenue. The 10% uplift over the previous year was largely driven by an increase in the hosting of non-football live events, improved retail performance and a rise in sponsorship revenues.
During the 2023/24 season, several football clubs hosted major sporting events in their stadia, boosting commercial revenues. For instance, select French clubs benefitted from the 2023 Rugby World Cup and German clubs from the 2024 UEFA EUROs. Recognition of the reliability and potential upside from venue-generated income has led to half of the Money League clubs pursuing stadia redevelopment in 2025, including FC Barcelona and Manchester City (presently in the construction phase) and Manchester United (currently exploring available options to redevelop Old Trafford).
Additionally, eight Money League clubs reported stronger retail performance, highlighting their ability to leverage brand value and sporting success to drive commercial revenue and likely a move towards clubs controlling more of the value chain from the sale of merchandising than ever before – perhaps a sign of how the business model of football clubs is evolving for the future.
In contrast, there was no uplift in the broadcast revenue (€4.3bn) cumulatively reported by Money League clubs in 2023/24, as each of the ‘big five’ leagues remained in the same domestic broadcast cycle as the preceding season. The ‘big five’ leagues have or will be entering, a period of relatively stable broadcast revenues due to longer-term domestic media rights deals through to at least 2027. The Premier League will reportedly benefit from an uplift in the value of its international media rights from 2025/26, primarily through new agreements across the MENA and APAC regions. Furthermore, in November the Premier League announced plans to establish an in-house media operation, signalling a potential evolution to its business model. Launching in 2026/27, this initiative will be responsible for the production and distribution of international media, potentially reshaping the league’s relationship with broadcast partners.
Several clubs identified the impact of infrastructure investments as a key driver of revenue. For instance, Liverpool (€715m) and Olympique Lyonnais (€264m) benefited from such projects, with higher attendances and non-matchday events boosting matchday and commercial revenue respectively. Elsewhere, FC Barcelona fell to 6th following a decrease of €40m in revenue, from €800m in 2022/23 to €760m in 2023/24. The decline was driven by a €63m fall in matchday revenue due to matches being played at the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys, a stadium with nearly half the capacity of Camp Nou that is currently under redevelopment. However, with the club expected to return to the Camp Nou in 2025 (with the full stadium works to be completed before the 2026/27 season), it will expect to reap the benefits of enhanced matchday and commercial revenues in upcoming seasons.
Future outlook
According to Deloitte analysis, over 300 sport stadium projects (renovations or new builds) are underway globally in 2025. While not all these projects relate to football clubs, it is reflective of an increased industry-wide focus towards creating stable and diversified revenue streams through stadia utilised beyond matchdays. In addition to increasing capacity to service excess demand, clubs are focused on building smarter entertainment destinations that deliver better experiences for players, artists, fans, and the wider community throughout the year. However, stadiums, much like the broader football club, are viewed as community assets and thus it is essential that they are built with the needs and welfare of the local community in mind.
Additionally, the ‘big five’ European leagues are entering a period of stability in domestic broadcast income, and only the Premier League and LaLiga are expected to deliver significant uplifts through international rights. Therefore, the next material uplift could come from an increase in the number of matches played by clubs via the introduction of new formats to existing competitions. This can be expected on account of changes made to UEFA club competitions from 2024/25, and the expanded FIFA Club World Cup between June and July 2025.
In financial terms, the expanded UEFA competitions will increase the revenue generating capacity of European clubs outside of the ‘big five’ leagues, with more teams qualifying for the league phase, where they will play more matches. Per Deloitte analysis, excluding the impact of changes to the number of pre-knock out matches, winning the Champions League could result in revenue uplifts of c.€15m over the previous format (UEFA Europa League: c.€8m and UEFA Europa Conference League: c.€3m). Similarly, the FIFA Club World Cup is expected to provide a significant uplift to some non-European clubs such as Flamengo, who this year ranked in the top 30 of the Money League for the first time since 1996/97 and Inter Miami.
However, there is a need to balance revenue optimisation with player welfare as many stakeholders acknowledge the impact of increased workloads. Clubs such as Real Madrid, Manchester City and Flamengo who are participating in the FIFA Club World Cup in 2025 could have potentially played in 68, 74, and 87 matches respectively during the 2024/25 season2.
In October 2024, FIFPro Europe filed a formal complaint to the European Union over the international match calendar. Should the challenges not be resolved, there exists a financial risk if the union votes to implement a strike during the football season. In addition, the need to manage workload is critical to providing the best on-pitch quality and the entertainment that fans, broadcasters, sponsors, and investors all crave. The inability to resolve this key challenge will damage the value of the sport in all senses in the long-term.
As governing bodies introduce new competitions or implement format changes to existing competitions, the relative importance of sporting performances in driving financial success for clubs will increase. The top performing Money League clubs have all used historical and current on-pitch success as a catalyst to spark the growth of global sport and entertainment brands. A shake-up in the rankings will require clubs further down the ladder to take the leap in on-pitch performance, while nurturing a brand and ethos that transcends borders to resonate with international audiences both in roaring stadiums and across digital platforms.
