Real Madrid has become the world’s richest football club for the tenth time in a row, according to a report by accounting and consultancy firm Deloitte. With eight of the twenty football clubs in the top 20 richest clubs, the Premier League maintains its dominant position. Louis van Gaal’s Manchester United is the richest club in England, while Everton can call itself the fastest growing football club financially.

Football Money League 2015
Every year the ‘Sports Group’ carries out an assessment Deloitte the finances of the clubs with the highest revenues in the world. Their latest report – entitled ‘Football Money League 2015’ – shows that in the world’s most popular sport there is a growing gap – at least financially – between elite clubs and the rest. In 2004, Aston Villa, then ranked 20th in the world’s 20 richest clubs, had a turnover of €84 million, while the richest club (Manchester United) earned around €259 million. Ten years later, the financial threshold for breaking into the top 20 has now even risen to €144 million, with leaders Real Madrid managing to convert no less than €550 million. This boom in turnover was mainly due to a large increase in income from broadcasting rights, coupled with income from other commercial activities.

Overview of the 20 richest football clubs in the world:

€6 billion
Together, these 20 clubs generate total annual revenue of more than €6 billion, a threshold that has been exceeded for the first time in history. At the top of the Money League, Manchester United joins Real Madrid as the only clubs earning more than €500 million per year. German champions Bayern Munich are in third place, while Lionel Messi’s Barcelona are in fourth place. England’s second richest club, Manchester City, has a turnover of €414 million, 25% less than derby rivals Manchester United. Number twenty on the list is Everton with a turnover of €144 million, €400 million less than leaders Real Madrid.

The Premier League dominates
Premier League clubs dominate the top 20 – the number of English clubs in the ranking increased from six last year to eight in the 2015 edition. A look at the top 40 further underlines the financial dominance of England’s top clubs: the number of Premier League clubs sits at 30 The ranking has increased from eight to 14 and all Premier League clubs are now among the global top 40. This is due, the researchers say, but to one factor: the much greater turnover from television rights achieved by English Premier League clubs – and its relatively even distribution.

Everton’s fastest growing
Analysis of the club’s annual growth shows Everton was the club with the fastest financial growth last year, with a 43% increase in turnover, followed by Champions League finalists Atlético de Madrid (+42%) and Italian club Napoli (+42%). Only two clubs in the top 20 experienced a decline in turnover – Milan clubs AC Milan and Inter Milan.