The Premier League’s financial dominance has been laid bare once again after UEFA said that eight of Europe’s richest 20 clubs belong in England.
And the most recent complete set of accounts for 20 Premier League clubs say that their combined revenues exceeded €7bn (£5.86bn).
La Liga and the Bundesliga were next best on €3.65bn (£3.06bn) and €3.61bn (£3.03bn). Serie A on €2.88bn (£2.42bn) and Ligue 1 on €2.37bn (£2bn) are the only others to exceed a billion. Scotland’s Premiership showed a year on year growth of 14% but has a median of just €9m (£7.5m) per club.
Real Madrid remain the top dogs with revenues at the end of 2023 exceeding €1bn, according to UEFA’s figures, but they are closely followed by Manchester City (whose own accounts published since then show a further boost) and Paris Saint-Germain.
Manchester United remain fourth despite their myriad issues, with Bayern Munich completing the top five. Among the other English sides are Arsenal, Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur, Chelsea, Newcastle United, Aston Villa and West Ham United.
The governing body also pointed to there being minimal change amid criticism across the game of the rich getting richer by confirming “all of the current top 20 clubs were in the top 25 in 2014.”
But there is a split developing within the 20 with UEFA continuing: “Revenue at the top is polarised, with a €300m+ (£251.7m) gap between the 8th and 12th highest-revenue clubs.”
That is between Liverpool and Atletico Madrid, with both Manchester clubs and London’s big three also considered part of the dozen, while offering fresh proof that the traditional big six of the Premier League remains in place when it comes to revenues.
UEFA point to Tottenham’s new stadium as being a key factor behind their revenue growth but add: “In contrast, Chelsea and Manchester United, without major stadium changes, have dropped from 2nd and 5th to 5th and 10th in their tables.”
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