Liverpool have joined Manchester United among the top five clubs in the Deloitte Football Money League for 2019/20.
Barcelona and Real Madrid top the list, with Bayern Munich third and the two Premier League clubs rounding off the top five.
The rankings detail the highest revenue generating clubs in world football and is widely viewed as the most reliable analysis of their financial performance.
Total revenue of the top 20 Money League clubs fell 12% to €8.2bn due to the pandemic – see the full list and commentaries #DFML2021https://t.co/qHV6krXqs5 pic.twitter.com/B9JxWOHTCj
— Deloitte UK (@DeloitteUK) January 26, 2021
Liverpool returned to the top five in the Money League for the first time since 2001/02 with total revenue of £489.9m, an eight percent decrease compared to the previous year.
Deloitte Sports Business Group Director, Tim Bridge, said the club’s on-pitch success was a massive factor in their rise up the standings.
“Building on winning the Champions League and then taking the Premier League crown for the first time has had a significant impact,” he told Sky Sports.
“They have moved significantly towards a more digital model, and have been doing for a number of years.
“That has benefitted them in comparison to others during the pandemic, because they are able to engage with their fans in a way others probably had to play catch-up.”
United remain in the top five despite suffering the largest year-on-year decline among the top 20 clubs in the Money League.
The club’s 2020 revenues were £509m, a drop of more than £118m. Bridge attributes this to two important factors.
“The reason for the decrease is predominantly driven by the pandemic,” he added. “As you can imagine, Manchester United with a huge fanbase generate significant amounts of revenue every time they play at Old Trafford.
“They are going to be impacted in a more significant way than many other clubs. Of course, last year they didn’t have Champions League football either, so the revenue differential from competing in the Europa League compared to the Champions League had a significant impact on the numbers.
“But caution is needed. With Bayern Munich moving ahead of them, they were able to complete their domestic season in the timeframe, so the numbers for Bayern represent a full year of domestic football, whereas for United they are curtailed.”
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