English clubs make the Deloitte football rich list

Deloitte have announced their list of the world’s richest football clubs, and although Manchester United have upped their revenue in the last year, the Premier League champions have lost ground on Spain’s big two at the top of the standings.

Real Madrid top the list as the world’s richest clubs, followed by Barcelona – Sir Alex Ferguson’s men are in third, but have seen their stock slip.

“We are starting to see widening gaps between clubs at the top of the Money League,” the report, published in The Guardian, reads.

“Manchester United’s consistent on-pitch success has helped establish it as a continued fixture in the top three of the Money League, yet in recent years a gap has grown between themselves and the Spanish giants Real Madrid and Barcelona, rising again to €83.7m in this year’s edition.

“United’s failure to qualify for the 2011-12 Champions League knockout phase will have a detrimental effect on revenues relative to the top two, which may result in this gap increasing to over €100m,” it concludes.

Bayern Munich are in fourth, with Arsenal in fifth, but there is a €70 million gap between these sides.

Chelsea are in sixth place, Liverpool in ninth, Tottenham in 11th and Manchester City are in 12th.

Meanwhile, Chelsea have released details of their finances, and revealed that it cost them £28 million to sack Carlo Ancelotti and replace him with Andre Villas Boas.

The Italian coach was handed a large compensation sum after being dismissed, whilst Porto commanded a release clause to allow Villas Boas to join the Stamford Bridge club.

By Gareth McKnight

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