There are not any real surprises in our list of the top 20 richest football clubs in the world in May 2025. But the order itself can easily change via a range of circumstances – for better or worse, as fans of big teams such as PSG, Barcelona and Man City know very well.
Football is big business, and the sport has become a money-generating machine for the richest football clubs over the past 20 years. TV deals, rapidly rising transfer fees, and other lucrative revenue streams have combined to create mountains of cash.
At the pinnacle of the game, the biggest clubs produce ever-heftier wedges of cash each year, and football’s financial might shows no sign of decreasing anytime soon.
Every year, financial industry leaders Deloitte publish their Football Money League detailing the richest clubs in the world, and we have taken a closer look at their rundown for May 2025 below.
The top 20 richest football clubs in the world in May 2025
20. Lyon – £222.9m
One of two new entries from the previous update is Lyon, becoming the third club from Ligue 1 to make it into the top 20. They qualified for the UEFA Europa League (UEL) for the 2024/25 campaign off the back of their performance in the league in the previous season, which will give them additional revenue streams.
Lyon are one of the most-supported clubs in France given their past history with silverware, which means that they are also able to see a high cash flow on matchdays. At the time of writing, they are in seventh place in the Ligue 1 table with a total of 54 points after 32 games, and will want to aim higher in order to try and reach the UEFA Champions League (UCL) places for next term.
Lyon had a number of significant departures in the most recent January transfer window, including the likes of Maxence Caqueret and Gift Orban to Como and Hoffenheim respectively. A weaker squad will certainly damage their chances of European football, but will also add a nice profit to the balance sheets.
19. Marseille – £242.3m
Next to enter the list is another French club in Marseille, who were splashing the cash in the summer transfer window. A well-supported and popular club in France, it is not a surprise to see them have so much firepower when it comes to being able to spend their riches.
However, Marseille did not qualify for any major European competition this season, which could hinder them financially in terms of the next update. They are doing well in Ligue 1 though, currently sitting in second place. A good cup run could also help them somewhat financially.
Marseille lost key striker Elye Wahi to Eintracht Frankfurt in the Bundesliga as they tried to replace the departing Omar Marmoush in the January transfer window. They will be hoping that new signing Amine Gouiri from Rennes will be able to fill the hole left behind and help aid a title push which would produce a significant financial windfall.
18. Aston Villa – £261.9m
The second new entry after the last update is Aston Villa, becoming the ninth club from the Premier League to join the list. Their revenue streams have been significantly boosted after qualifying for the UCL for the 2024/25 campaign, and they also reached the quarter-final stage of the competition having beaten Belgium Pro League side Club Brugge in their last-16 tie.
Villa are one of a few teams in England's top flight pushing for a top-four spot, which would guarantee UCL qualification for next season's competition as well. England will be given an extra spot for next term too, given their superior coefficient ranking over other nations.
The big-money sale of Colombia international striker Jhon Duran to Saudi Pro League side Al Nassr in the January transfer window will also give the Villans a significant financial boost.
17. West Ham United – £272.0m
Just above their fellow Premier League rivals Aston Villa are West Ham United, who won the UEFA Conference League (UECL) in the 2022/23 season. Being a Premier League club based in London too, they can charge match-going fans more for their tickets and raise prices for other sellable assets in the stadium.
However, unlike the last few seasons, West Ham have failed to qualify for any European competition this campaign. They also spent heavily on new recruits in the summer, and if they do not do well this season, their value could plummet.
The Hammers were struggling in the Premier League under new manager Julen Lopetegui, and have since decided to replace him with a familiar name in the English top flight in Graham Potter.
16. Juventus – £300.3m
Juventus have fallen a staggering five places since the last update. The Old Lady won nine Serie A titles in a row between 2011 and 2020 but have not lifted the Scudetto since.
Juve are another team who were competing in the UCL this campaign, which they would have hoped to maximise revenue from, but they got knocked out 4-3 on aggregate in the play-off round to Dutch side PSV. Alongside that is their bread and butter of the league, which they currently sit in fourth place but 14 points behind current Serie A leaders Napoli.
15. Newcastle United – £313.9m
Since Newcastle United were taken over by mega-rich Saudi owners, their revenue streams have shot up. They have a number of sponsorships in Saudi Arabia now, plus their 2023/24 Champions League qualification would have also contributed to extra funding.
Newcastle were cruelly denied a UECL place for this season, as Chelsea took their spot following Manchester United's surprise 2-1 win in the FA Cup final over noisy neighbours Manchester City. On top of almost breaching the Premier League's Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR), which meant that they had to be careful with spending this summer, the Magpies could well drop down on this list by the next publication.
Newcastle are currently in fourth place in the Premier League at the time of writing and are in with a real chance of qualifying for the UCL again for the second time in the last three seasons. Should they do so, that will boost revenue streams for the Magpies. They also won the Carabao Cup final after impressively beating current Premier League leaders Liverpool 2-1 in the final at Wembley Stadium, their first major trophy in 70 years.
14. Inter Milan – £330.1m
Inter won the Scudetto last season just behind their Milan rivals. Indeed, this would have helped boost their revenues, and we could see them overtake AC Milan in terms of riches in 2025.
Inter are among the favourites to win the UCL this season, having reached the final in the 2022/23 campaign. That extra revenue, on top of another potential Serie A title, should keep them financially stable over the next few years. They are currently in second place in the table, but only three points below Napoli.
13. AC Milan – £335.6m
AC Milan are one of the most decorated and well-supported teams in world football, with only Real Madrid winning more Champions League titles than them. Based in the large and popular Italian city of Milan, there are plenty of opportunities for the Rossoneri to generate income.
Like their city rivals, the Rossoneri were also competing in this year's UCL, which has helped generate a little extra revenue for the club with a rich history in the competition. However, they were knocked out in the play-off round 2-1 on aggregate to Dutch team Feyenoord, and so will take no further part in this season's competition.
Milan are also currently ninth in Serie A, and nine points away from a guaranteed UCL place for next season, so it looks as if they will miss out on Europe's elite competition altogether in the 2025/26 campaign, which will significantly impact their revenue figures when the next report comes out.
They signed prolific Mexico international striker Santiago Gimenez from Eredivisie side Feyenoord in order to help try and bridge that gap, and represented a significant financial outlay. The likes of Joao Felix and Kyle Walker from the Premier League were also brought to the San Siro in the January transfer window.
12. Atletico Madrid – £345.7m
Being based in the Spanish capital of Madrid, Atletico have been able to take advantage of plenty of revenue opportunities, especially given their rivalry with perhaps the biggest club in the world in Real Madrid. They have also had notable success on the pitch, winning La Liga in 2013/14 and 2020/21 when it is so often dominated by Real and FC Barcelona.
Atletico were one of the biggest spenders in the summer transfer window just past, bringing in the likes of Argentina international striker Julian Alvarez from Manchester City and English central midfielder Conor Gallagher from Chelsea. They will be hoping that the heavy expenditure will turn into instant success, as they battle in both La Liga and the UCL.
They are currently in third place in the table behind Barcelona and Real respectively, and still hold small hopes of winning the title being behind the league leaders by 10 points at the moment.
11. Borussia Dortmund – £433.6m
Borussia Dortmund have come so close to winning major silverware in recent years, notably losing out on the 2022/23 Bundesliga title to Bayern Munich on the final day, as well as losing the 2024 Champions League final 2-0 to Real Madrid at Wembley Stadium.
They still manage to generate a lot of revenue from their large Yellow Wall support though, and have sold big in recent years with superstars like Erling Haaland and Jude Bellingham leaving for greener pastures. Dortmund also competed in this season's UCL, but after a strong league phase stage, they were knocked out in the quarter-finals by Barcelona 5-3 on aggregate.
Poor early league form saw Nuri Sahin relieved of his duties as head coach – an expensive termination offset by the significant sale of Dutch forward Donyell Malen to Aston Villa in the January transfer window, which would have helped balance the books a little.
10. Chelsea – £460.5m
An American investment consortium got their claws into Chelsea and immediately pumped eye-watering sums into the team, spending over £1bn in a transfer splurge. The Blues’ most recent accounts had a healthy look, but it will be interesting to see how they perform next time, having failed to qualify for the Champions League again.
Despite this, Chelsea did splash the cash again this summer, and were one of the biggest spenders in Europe's top five leagues. They did qualify for the UECL as well, and are favourites with bookmakers to win it, which should generate extra revenue streams.
The Blues will hope to qualify for the UCL for next season though, and are currently in fifth place in the Premier League table with the top five qualifying due to England's vastly superior coefficient ranking compared to the other countries that they are competing with.
9. Tottenham Hotspur – £519.2m
With the notoriously tight-fisted Daniel Levy calling the shots, Tottenham Hotspur's financial results are always likely to impress. Though they have an enormous stadium debt to pay off, Spurs have been raking in the cash since moving into their state-of-the-art new home. New sponsorship deals are also a contributing factor, and Tottenham’s income has taken another considerable jump over the past 12 months.
Like many others in this list, Spurs invested heavily in the summer transfer window, spending a club-record £65m to sign striker Dominic Solanke from fellow Premier League side AFC Bournemouth, who earned an England call-up under then interim Three Lions boss Lee Carsley. The North London club will also generate revenue from competing in the UEL this season, while they will also hope to improve on their performance in the Premier League as they currently sit in 16th spot.
8. Liverpool – £603.3m
With their Anfield expansions, Premier League performances and Champions League success all driving numbers up, Liverpool’s finances are healthy, though Reds supporters would like to see owners FSG allocate more of their cash to the recruitment department. Liverpool missed out on Champions League qualification for 2023/24, however, so their income dipped.
Nonetheless, they have qualified for the competition this season, and given their historic success in it, they may fancy themselves to go far once more and benefit financially from it. Liverpool are also currently sitting pretty at the top of the table in the Premier League with a total of 82 points from 35 matches played, and have won the title in an incredible debut season for new head coach Arne Slot.
The Reds also reached the Carabao Cup final, but lost 2-1 to fellow Premier League rivals Newcastle at Wembley Stadium. They were also knocked out of the UCL after Ligue 1 side Paris Saint-Germain beat them in a penalty shootout in their last-16 clash, while the tie was finely poised at 1-1 on aggregate.
7. Arsenal – £604.8m
Arsenal are one of six Premier League representatives in the top 10 and the Gunners’ recent Champions League involvement could allow them to climb the rankings even further. Matchday revenues from the 60,000-capacity Emirates Stadium in London are among the league’s loftiest. At the same time, owners Stan and Josh Kroenke have not been shy about investing in Arsenal since Mikel Arteta’s appointment in December 2019.
For all their might, one issue the club is eager to address is the lack of a Champions League trophy in the cabinet. But should the Gunners ever win it for the first time in their illustrious history, a swarm of new revenue opportunities would be expected to come their way.
They are currently in second place in the Premier League, but are a whopping 15 points behind Liverpool. Nonetheless, the UCL presents their only chance of winning silverware in the 2024/25 campaign, with them facing a tough two-legged affair against Paris Saint-Germain at the semi-final stage of the competition.
6. Barcelona – £641.8m
La Liga heavyweights Barcelona have had some well-documented financial crises, with Los Cules activating their infamous “levers” to keep themselves in the black. However, the Catalonian giants remain one of the game’s biggest hitters in terms of revenue due to their consistent appearances in the Champions League and the sky-high matchday funds they accrue at the 90,000-seater Camp Nou.
More UCL revenue should be generated this season, and a strong start to La Liga should elevate their hopes of taking the title away from their bitter rivals Real Madrid. They currently lead the table by four and 12 points to Real and Atletico Madrid in second and third place, respectively, in what looks set to be a thrilling title race until the end of the season.
5. Bayern Munich – £646.1m
Bayern Munich is Germany’s most popular team by far. Despite losing out to Bayer Leverkusen in 2023/24, their tight stronghold over the domestic game there has allowed them to build a rock-solid financial platform. The Bavarians are routinely among the Champions League’s most competitive outfits, too, while the sponsorship deals they attract are among the sweetest in football.
They were no doubt be eager to improve on their trophyless campaign in 2023/24, as winning trophies reap financial benefits. Bayern have done just that, recently claiming the Bundesliga title.
4. Manchester United – £650.5m
Manchester United have been slipping down the rankings in recent years, possibly due to financial mismanagement from their owners. With a huge principal debt to service, interest payment responsibilities, and soaring salaries paid to second-tier talent, United have been a bit of a mess. However, in terms of revenues earned, the Red Devils are right up there, which suggests they could be a force to be reckoned with under their new stewardship.
On the other hand, United have also had to make several cutbacks under their new ownership, who have made a number of high-profile mistakes already including the quickfire hiring and sacking of sporting director Dan Ashworth, which unnecessarily cost them millions of pounds. It certainly highlights the dire state that they are in financially, and further reports have suggested that they are also on the brink of the Premier League's PSR rules as well.
They were one of the biggest spenders in Europe's top five leagues in the summer, but none of the new signings have really been able to hit the ground running properly. Another poor season could well see United struggle again financially, and they had already suffered their worst-ever start to a Premier League campaign under Dutch manager Erik ten Hag, who consequently lost his job and was replaced by now former Sporting CP manager Ruben Amorim.
3. Paris St. Germain – £680.3m
Funded by swathes of Qatari cash, PSG wield as much clout as any other club in the transfer market. Many of their sponsorship contracts, especially those of Qatari origin, help to fill their coffers annually, and the Parisians’ yearly runs to the Champions League knockout stages also help to increase the cash flowing in.
Marketable players like Kylian Mbappe, Neymar, and Lionel Messi have also contributed to earning PSG the big bucks. However, they have all now left the club, and less marketable names need to step up.
PSG have already won the Ligue 1 title, but their main cash flow will largely come from their performances in the UCL, in which they will have to get past Arsenal in order to progress to the final. The arrival of Georgia international superstar Khvicha Kvaratskhelia in the January transfer window may also give them a boost though, although he did arrive in Paris for a large sum of money.
2. Manchester City – £707.2m
Manchester City reported record revenues last year, placing them second on Deloitte’s list ahead of their illustrious rivals. However, the Premier League is investigating the Citizens for 115 alleged financial irregularities, many of which are related to artificial inflation of revenue and sponsorship streams.
Nevertheless, City’s success on the pitch continues to create new wealth off it, regardless of what happens in their upcoming hearing. Indeed, the City Football Group injected £210m into the club in the final week of August 2024, to give Man City an optimal chance of ensuring that they can avoid financial rule breaches in 2024/25.
However, Pep Guardiola's side are in third place in the Premier League at the moment, and do not quite look like the powerhouse that they used to be. As such, they spent big in the January transfer window in order to help refresh the squad, with around £180m of new talent set to come through the doors at the Etihad Stadium.
That significant financial outlay not only made them the biggest spenders in world football in January, but they also spent more than the other 19 clubs did in the Premier League combined (£177m)! On top of a potentially poor league finish, City's revenue figures could well have plummeted by the time the next update comes.
1. Real Madrid – £882.6m
The world’s biggest club, Real Madrid have been listed among the globe’s richest outfits for an age, and Los Blancos can draw from one of football’s deepest funds whenever a new superstar catches their eye. A series of Champions League triumphs over the past decade have added more zeros to their account balance, with Real earning a lot from La Liga TV and prize money on top.
Indeed, Los Blancos' illustrious financial history gained an extra degree of dominance over the rest in July 2024, when they became the world's first football club to rake in more than one billion euros in revenue (£840m).
That figure does not even include player transfers either, and it represents a rise of approximately 27% on the previous year's total revenue. Overall, Real made 16m euros (approximately £13.5m) in profit during the 2023/24 financial year.
They are currently in second place in the La Liga table, but were knocked out of the UCL by Arsenal 5-1 on aggregate at the quarter-final stage.
What is the Deloitte Money Football League?
The Deloitte Money Football League is a yearly profile of the highest-revenue clubs in world football. It claims to be the industry’s most reliable independent analysis of the top-earning clubs, and several of the biggest media companies use it as a reference point for their own analysis of financial figures.
Deloitte itself is the biggest professional services network in terms of revenue and number of employees in the world. It is considered to be one of the “Big Four” accounting firms. They have released 28 Deloitte Money Football League profiles in total now, with the latest edition coming in January 2025.
They calculate the clubs' “riches” by revenue generated in the previous footballing season, so for example, the 2025 profile focuses on the revenues generated from the 2023/24 campaign. Revenue can be generated in various ways, from tickets and products sold on matchdays to commercial and broadcast revenue, and all of the figures are calculated to form a total revenue for each club.
