Accountancy firm Deloitte have released their annual Football Money League, ranking the biggest teams in Europe by their revenue – with six Premier League teams featured.
20. Atletico Madrid
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2012-13 revenue: £102.8m
2011-12 revenue: £87.3m
Atletico Madrid are enjoying a real resurgence under Diego Simeone, and their trophy cabinet reflects that. After victories in the UEFA Europa League and Copa Del Rey, the Spanish capital side are now battling with arch rivals Real Madrid and FC Barcelona for La Liga.
19. AS Roma
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2012-13 revenue: £106.6m
2011-12 revenue: £93.8m
AS Roma have made big profits in player sales over the last year or so, with Fabio Borini being sold to Liverpool for €13.3m, Erik Lamela going to Tottenham Hotspur for €30,000,000, and Marquinhos moving to Paris Saint-Germain for €35m.
Despite those players leaving Stadio Olimpico, he Giallorossi are involved in their first title challenge in years this season in Serie A, and have just knocked Juventus out the Coppa Italia.
18. Fenerbahce
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2012-13 revenue: £108.3m
2011-12 revenue: £83.5m
The Turkish league continues to improve, with big name players now a common sight throughout the major teams.
Fenerbahce boast the likes of former Liverpool and Chelsea midfielder Raul Meireles, fellow former Anfield star Dirk Kuyt and Senegal striker Moussa Sow.
The Istanbul outfit continue to reach UEFA Champions League qualification, and although they have fallen at the playoff stage in each of the last two seasons, the foundations are there to go one better next year.
17. Hamburger SV
Last season: 20
2012-13 revenue: £116m
2011-12 revenue: £98m
Like many Bundesliga clubs, Hamburger SV are a well run side, and regularly feature amongst the top revenue earning sides in world football.
Last season, they performed impressively despite a poor start to the campaign, and captain Rafael Van Der Vaart – appointed at the halfway point due to underwhelming performances from his team-mates – led HSV to a creditable 7th place finish.
This term, they are struggling to match that, and sit 14th, but at least things are going well off the pitch.
16. Galatasaray
Last season: 19
2012-13 revenue: £134.6m
2011-12 revenue: £104.9m
Galatasaray are the biggest club in Turkey, and boast the biggest name manager in Roberto Mancini, the biggest name players in former Chelsea forward Didier Drogba, ex-Inter Milan playmaker Wesley Sneijder and the biggest star in Turkish football in Burak Yilmaz.
Those factors all combined make them the highest earning Turkish club on this list.
15. Inter Milan
Last season: 11
2012-13 revenue: £144.6m
2011-12 revenue: £162.3m
Internazionale have had a somewhat difficult time in recent campaigns, and haven’t finished in the UEFA Champions League places in Serie A since 2010-11.
A change of ownership looks to have brought about some positive change, with Inter Milan now 4th in the Italian top flight after a 9th place finish in last season’s league, and a bigger transfer kitty.
14. Tottenham Hotspur
Last season: 14
2012-13 revenue: £147.4m
2011-12 revenue: £144.2m
Tottenham Hotspur achieved their record points tally in the Premier League last season, even if the north London outfit narrowly missed out on UEFA Champions League football.
Spurs made profits off the pitch, with their £100m spending spree more than matched by the figure they brought back in from player sales, with the bulk of that coming from Gareth Bale.
Tottenham came close to claiming the UEFA Europa League title last season, but it is Champions League football that the fans at White Hart Lane crave.
13. FC Schalke 04
Last season: 15
2012-13 revenue: £169.9m
2011-12 revenue: £141.2m
FC Schalke 04 are the third biggest sports club in Germany, behind Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund, and the Gelsenkirchen side are regular fixtures in the UEFA Champions League too – naturally a big boost to the club’s coffers.
The presence of big name stars in recent years such as Raul, Klaas-Jan Huntelaar and Jefferson Farfan alongside a hugely productive academy that has seen the likes of Julian Draxler and Max Meyer recently graduate to the first team has resulted in a formidable unit on the pitch.
12. Liverpool
Last season: 9
2012-13 revenue: £206.2m
2011-12 revenue: £188.7m
Liverpool are growing under owners Fenway Sports Group, and manager Brendan Rodgers is getting the best out of his players too, particularly in attack.
The Reds boast one of the finest players in world football in Luis Suarez, and the Uruguayan is comfortably the top goalscorer in the Premier League despite missing the first six matches through suspension.
Liverpool’s financial future likely depends on UEFA Champions League qualification. Should they reach Europe’s top tier competition, FSG majority owners John W Henry and Tom Werner may finally dip into the club’s increased coffers and start renovation work on the club’s Anfield stadium.
The encouraging sign for Liverpool is that even without European football, revenue is going up.
11. Borussia Dortmund
Last season: 11
2012-13 revenue: £219.6m
2011-12 revenue: £159.2m
Borussia Dortmund enjoyed a massively successful season in 2012-13, reaching the UEFA Champions League final for the first time since 1997, as well as finishing runners up in the Bundesliga.
The Champions League revenues will have been a huge boost to the club’s accounts – as will the sale of star playmaker Mario Goetze to Bayern Munich – but success on the pitch isn’t always so easy to come by, and manager Jurgen Klopp must work hard to overhaul his team’s Bavarian rivals at the top of the table.
10. AC Milan
Last season: 8
2012-13 revenue: £225.8m
2011-12 revenue: £207.9m
AC Milan might be having a disastrous season in 2013-14 domestically, but the Rossoneri have dined at Europe’s top table for as long as anyone can remember.
The one positive from the current season is that Milan are the only Italian club to have reached the knockout stages of the UEFA Champions League this term, but their Serie A form means the only way they will qualify for the competition next year is to win it.
9. Juventus
Last season: 13
2012-13 revenue: £233.5m
2011-12 revenue: £158.1m
Juventus are the most widely supported team in Italy, and the only Serie A side to own their own stadium, which has been a boon on the financial front.
The Old Lady of Italian football have also claimed the last two Scudetto titles, and look well on course to win a third in a row, having attracted big name players in Carlos Tevez and Fernando Llorente to the club, as well as the immensely promising young midfielder Paul Pogba.
8. Arsenal
Last season: 6
2012-13 revenue: £243.6m
2011-12 revenue: £234.9m
Arsenal are arguably the very best run club financially in England, having made a profit in each of the last few seasons despite paying off the Emirates Stadium debts.
The Gunners’ impressive accounts have now resulted in a larger transfer warchest, and the £42.4m signing of Mesut Ozil was what the fans had been craving for years.
The future looks bright for Arsene Wenger and his team, who are serious contenders for the Premier League for the first time in years.
7. Chelsea
Last season: 5
2012-13 revenue: £260m
2011-12 revenue: £261m
Under the ownership of Roman Abramovich, Chelsea have grown into one of the biggest football clubs in the world.
The Russian oligarch took over the Blues almost exactly a decade ago, and set a precedent for huge backing of a club through financial muscle thanks to some colossal spending on big name players.
That has brought trophies too, and in the last two seasons, Chelsea have claimed both the UEFA Champions League and Europa League, as well as the FA Cup. This season under Jose Mourinho, they are back challenging for the Barclays Premier League.
6. Manchester City
Last season: 7
2012-13 revenue: £271m
2011-12 revenue: £231.1m
Manchester City proved their mettle on the field upon winning the 2011-12 Barclays Premier League title, and this season have made another breakthrough by qualifying for the knockout stages of the UEFA Champions League for the first time thanks to new boss Manuel Pellegrini.
The Etihad Stadium outfit are backed by some serious financial firepower from the United Arab Emirates, and their spending in the transfer market – and on other clubs – means they ought to be taken seriously in the long term too.
5. Paris Saint-Germain
Last season: 10
2012-13 revenue: £341.8m
2011-12 revenue: £178.4m
Paris Saint-Germain are another club backed by wealthy Middle East investors, and the French capital club claimed a first title since 1994 last season thanks to the signings of A-list players such as Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Thiago Silva and Lucas Moura.
This term, they have once again reinforced, bringing Marquinhos and Edinson Cavani to Parc des Princes for big money fees, and they could retain the Ligue 1 trophy, and once again progress in the UEFA Champions League.
4. Manchester United
Last season: 3
2012-13 revenue: £363.2m
2011-12 revenue: £320.3m
Manchester United may have increased their revenue in 2012-13 from their 2011-12 total, but this year is the first time that the Red Devils have dropped out of the top three highest earning clubs in world football.
The Old Trafford side are undergoing plenty of changes – not least with David Moyes succeeding Sir Alex Ferguson as head coach, the club’s first managerial change in 26 years.
If they can retain their star assets, and continue to be a fixture in the UEFA Champions League, Man Utd could regain their place in the top three of this list.
3. Bayern Munich
Last season: 4
2012-13 revenue: £369.6m
2011-12 revenue: £298.1m
Bayern Munich had an astonishingly successful 2012-13 season, claiming the Bundesliga, DfB Pokal and UEFA Champions League trophies in Jupp Heynckes’ final campaign as manager.
The German has been replaced by former FC Barcelona boss Pep Guardiola, and are favourites with bookies to retain all three of those titles thanks to scintillating play, star players and huge financial muscle.
2. FC Barcelona
Last season: 2
2012-13 revenue: £413.6m
2011-12 revenue: £390.8m
FC Barcelona possess two of the most marketable – and best – players in world football in Lionel Messi and Neymar, and the football played at Camp Nou has seen the club acquire near-cult status amongst fans worldwide.
The tiki-taka style has proved so successful that the Catalan outfit have become regular fixtures in the knockout stages of the UEFA Champions League, and remain a huge draw in terms of television revenue across the globe.
1. Real Madrid
Last season: 1
2012-13 revenue: £444.7m
2011-12 revenue: £414.7m
Like arch rivals FC Barcelona, Real Madrid possess some huge name players, with FIFA Ballon d’Or holder Cristiano Ronaldo the biggest star, and former Tottenham Hotspur ace Gareth Bale his heir in waiting.
The Estadio Santiago Bernabeu side are backed by construction magnate Florentino Perez, and along with their El Clasico opposition, their ability to negotiate their own individual television rights means they accumulate more revenue than any team in the world.