Bharath Rammr
Manchester United have finally brought an end to the dominance of Spanish clubs in the Deloitte Money League by moving past Real Madrid to top the table. This is the first time in more than a decade that United have been placed as the richest club in the world. Manchester United have come in with a record-breaking revenue of £515 million for the 2015-16 season. It is substantially better than the £463.8 million managed by both Real Madrid and Barcelona alike. Barcelona have been placed second in the table followed by Madrid. This is a major disappointment for Real Madrid, who have dropped down to third for the first time in 11 seasons.
The Deloitte Football Money League takes into account several aspects like the broadcasting rights, match day revenue, commercial income, and miscellaneous income in order to arrive at the figure. However, the research does not include the wages being paid out to players.
There is a little doubt that the club have been able to make this significant jump as a result of the numerous commercial deals that they have been signing in the last three years. Despite on-the-pitch performances being some of the worst United have witnessed in the last decade, the club have been able to progress steadily in terms of the commercial value. The incredible fan following that the club enjoys around the world has been a major factor behind the increased marketability.
United are expected to expand the difference between Madrid and Barcelona in the coming seasons, as the new Premier League TV deal starts to make a difference. It is expected that the new TV deal will add around £50-£60 million of additional money to a club. Hence, it would not take long before United break the £600 million barrier.
The primary reasons for Real Madrid dominating the table in the last decade has been the humongous commercial revenue coupled with the ability to negotiate their own TV rights. Since Spain has made several changes to the league in this regard, it is understood that they have not been able to dominate as before.
In terms of other news for Premier League teams, Manchester City have jumped one place to become the fifth richest club in the world with revenues of £392.6 million. They are followed by Arsenal with £350.4 million and Chelsea with £334.6 million. Arsenal, Chelsea, and Liverpool remain in the seventh, eighth, and ninth places respectively.
Paris St Germain have also seen a big drop has they have dropped from fourth place to 6th place after making £389.6 million in revenue. Bayern move up one place with revenues of £442.7 million.
