MANCHESTER UNITED have plummeted to EIGHTH in football’s rich list.
Despite a £40million increase in revenues, Sir Jim Ratcliffe and the Ineos regime at Old Trafford have overseen a drop to the club’s lowest standing in the income table.
And as a further blow to pride, they have been overtaken as English football’s biggest earners by Liverpool.
The latest figures compiled by football finance experts Deloitte show United are also behind Manchester City and Arsenal to be fourth in the Premier League money list.
United’s total incomes from gate receipts, broadcast and commercial deals actually rose from £653m in 2023-24 to £692m last term.
But the 15th-placed Prem finish contributed to a £45m drop in broadcast income, with the lack of Champions League income only partially offset by the run to the Europa League final.
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With their major domestic and European rivals all seeing bigger income growth, United – who have been top of the money table on ten previous occasions – have dropped four places from last year.
It is the first time the Old Trafford side have been out of the top five in the 29 years of the Deloitte Money League being compiled.
And with United playing just 20 home games this season after being eliminated from both domestic cups in their first match, they are likely to see a reduction of £85m in income from fewer Old Trafford matches and no European football.
Deloitte’s Tim Bridge said: “If you went back ten or 15 years, and you looked at Manchester United’s matchday revenue it was the industry leader.
“Their ability to generate commercial revenue was the benchmark by which everybody then went to market and set their strategy. I don’t think that remains the case.
“The opportunity remains for Manchester United. They are arguably still the biggest global football club brand and can maximise that in a way that is only possible for a select few.
“But to do that requires fit-for-purpose facilities. Clubs need to rethink how they engage with fans and how that relationship works.”
Liverpool, by contrast, on the back of their title-winning run under Arne Slot last term, have seen revenues up by £106m to £729m to stand fifth in the charts.
City also took a slight hit, with revenues down £7m to £723m, seeing the Etihad outfit fall from second last year to sixth now, after finishing third in the Prem and a last 16 exit from the Champions League after an unimpressive campaign in the new league format.
Arsenal, though, are up from tenth to seventh, with their revenues rising almost 15 per cent from £624m to £717m after going to the last four of the Champions League and earning around £99m from Uefa prize money.
Other Premier League clubs
Rank | Club | Total Revenue
14 Aston Villa £393m
17 Newcastle £347m
20 West Ham £240m
22 Brighton £208m
23 Everton £204m
24 Crystal Palace £203m
25 Bournemouth £190m
27 Wolves £180m
28 Brentford £179m
Liverpool are the only Prem side in the top five earners, with Real Madrid becoming the first club to break the £1bn mark, closely followed by Barcelona, Bayern Munich and PSG.
The four continental big guns, along with City and winners Chelsea, all played in Fifa’s Club World Cup, with the European sides involved seeing a collective increase of 17 per cent in TV monies.
The figures also demonstrate the effect of the new Champions League format and TV deals that were introduced last season.
But Spurs, still ninth, saw revenues up by £52m to £587m and tenth-placed Chelsea rising £35, to £510m.
Bridge added: “On pitch performance remains a primary driver for clubs to progress to the upper echelons of the ranking.
“Many clubs benefited from new and expanded European and international club tournaments.
“Leading clubs played more games on average than the season before, reflecting the growth of competitions and sporting performance.
“While this presents substantial financial opportunity, a balance must be struck between revenue optimisation and protecting both the value of the on-field product and player welfare amidst ever-increasing fixture schedules.”
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