Real Madrid and Barcelona have cemented their financial dominance in world football, according to Deloitte’s latest Football Money League, with the Spanish giants emerging as the highest-earning clubs for the 2024–25 season.
Real Madrid topped the rankings for a third straight year and for the 15th time in the past 21 editions after generating a record £975 million ($1.31 billion) in revenue. Their haul was more than £150 million ahead of arch-rivals Barcelona, underlining Madrid’s continued commercial and global strength.
Barcelona climbed to second place with revenues of £819 million, while English clubs struggled to keep pace at the very top. Liverpool became only the second Premier League side to surpass £700 million in annual revenue, yet that achievement was enough for just fifth place overall. Notably, this is the first time in the Money League’s 29-year history that no English club features in the top four raising fresh questions about the Premier League’s financial edge on the global stage.
However, Deloitte cautions that headline revenue figures do not always translate into financial health. Of the ten clubs that published full accounts for the 2024–25 season, four reported pre-tax losses, highlighting the pressures of rising costs and investment.
Barcelona’s position illustrates this contradiction clearly. Despite their strong revenue showing, the club still posted a £7 million pre-tax loss. A significant portion of their income around £60 million came from one-off sales of personal seat licences at the Camp Nou, a boost that is unlikely to be repeated in future seasons and which raises concerns about long-term sustainability.
The report also points to a major shift in how elite clubs make their money. Commercial income has now exceeded broadcast revenue for the third consecutive year. Collectively, the top 20 clubs generated £4.46 billion in commercial revenues in 2024–25, up from £4.2 billion the previous season.
Once again, Real Madrid led the way with £499 million in commercial income, followed by Barcelona (£438 million), Bayern Munich (£388 million), Manchester City (£343 million) and Manchester United (£333 million). Deloitte notes a widening gap in this area, with several clubs failing to reach even £100 million in commercial revenue.
Overall, the findings underline a changing financial balance in global football—one where Spanish giants are setting the pace, commercial power is becoming decisive, and Premier League clubs can no longer assume automatic financial supremacy.
