Which club is actually the richest football club in the world right now? After painstakingly gathering all available data, I was able to come with a detailed list of the top 10 richest clubs in the world.
The game of football is not just a game, it is a religion – or even a cult – that is followed and worshipped by a lot of people in many countries.
When football players are treated like gods rather than celebrities, what else would you call that?!
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There has been a massive inflow of money in soccer over the past few years and it is constantly gaining a lot of popularity around the globe.
Some of the top teams have taken good advantage of it to increase their financial strength.
A number of soccer clubs are clever enough to strike fantastic deals which have helped increase their wealth and become valued at a huge amount.
Players' performances too have a positive impact on the fiscal value of a club.
The club management, as well as the behind-the-scenes club officials, all play huge roles in making sure a club's wealth doesn’t go south.
We've seen over and again how some top football clubs sign lucrative sponsorship deals with very wealthy organizations, who in turn pay them loads of cash to help advertise their name, which in turn helps the clubs attract the best football talents from around the planet.
Without wasting more of your time, let me quickly let you in on who the top 10 richest clubs in the world are.
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Top 10 Richest Clubs In The World
10 JUVENTUS FC – YEARLY REVENUE: $442 MILLION
Juve is the tenth richest soccer club in the world and also the most successful club in Italy in modern times.
Last season, Juventus won the Serie A TIM league and reached the UEFA Champions League quarter-final.
Though Juventus revenues dropped in 2017, the club still went ahead and signed Cristiano Ronaldo in the summer.
The Turin-based club have won the most major honours (66 total) among football clubs in Italy.
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9 TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR – YEARLY REVENUE: $387 MILLION
At number 9 spot for the top 10 richest clubs in the world is the north London club who continues to see year-on-year revenue growth, most of which largely is as a result of broadcasting deals which account for 53 per cent of its 2018 revenue profile.
The team is housed in Tottenham Hotspur Stadium with a capacity of 62,062.
Tottenham Hotspur F.C. has the highest home attendance record of 85,512 of English football clubs.
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8 LIVERPOOL FC – YEARLY REVENUE: $462 MILLION
The Reds have won the second-most elite honours (61) among English football clubs.
Liverpool continue to improve things on the pitch thanks to manager Jurgen Klopp's passionately effective attacking approach, which has resulted in the team reaching the 2018/2019 UEFA Champions League semi-final where they will be facing Barca at Camp Nou.
7 ARSENAL FC – YEARLY REVENUE: $531 MILLION
Revenues are down at Arsenal currently because the Gunners are no longer a UEFA Champions League staple, though it did reach the UEFA Europa League semi-final last year.
It finished sixth in the Premier League and currently sit fifth.
The Islington-based club have the ninth-highest home attendance record (73,707) of English football clubs.
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6 CHELSEA FC – YEARLY REVENUE: $466 MILLION
The Blues have witnessed declining standards on the pitch in recent seasons (it currently sits fourth in the English Premier League, FA Cup Fifth round, EFL Cup Runners-up, FA Community Shield Runners-up).
However, CFC remains a commercial powerhouse thanks to money-spinning contracts with Nike and Yokohama Tyres.
Chelsea Football Club has won the fourth-most elite honours (30) among English football clubs.
5 MANCHESTER CITY – YEARLY REVENUE: $575 MILLION
In spite of welcoming an average of 54,054 fans to its home games at the City of Manchester Stadium, matchday revenue only makes up for 11 per cent of the club's 2018 revenue profile, which relies on broadcasting deals and commercial contracts instead.
The technical kit supplier of MCFC is Nike and the shirt sponsor is Etihad Airways.
The Citizens have the second-highest home attendance record (84,569) of English football clubs.
4 BAYERN MUNICH – YEARLY REVENUE: $640 MILLION
FC Bayern München won the German division in 2018 and are currently topping the Bundesliga table this season.
The Munich based club reached the UEFA Champions League semi-final last year but have been knocked out of this season contest. 75,354 fans on average attend FCB home matches.
FC Bayern has seen a lot of changes and growth since its formation and is currently regarded as the 4th richest football club in the world, earning £505.1 million last year.
Several Bayern Munich fans attribute this huge income to the club’s recent increase in its commercials.
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3 MANCHESTER UNITED – YEARLY REVENUE: $737 MILLION
MUFC used to be the richest club in the world as well as the wealthiest club in England, regardless of being knocked off their perch as 2018's richest club in the world.
The bulk of the Red Devils' 2018 revenue profile comes from its commercial deals which include big contracts with Adidas, who supplies Man United’s kits, and Chevrolet, who sponsors its shirts.
Manchester United Football Club has won the most elite honours (66) among English football clubs
2 FC BARCELONA – YEARLY REVENUE: $706 MILLION
Futbol Club Barcelona continue to witness year-on-year revenue growth and are well-supported around the world.
Barça actually fell from its first position on the list of the richest clubs in the world published last year.
The Catalonia giants recently sold one of their most prized players, Neymar, at the highest price ever.
Although the sale of Neymar brought in a lot of money to the club, it wasn’t considered as a factor in the ranking done here.
The reigning La Liga champions have over 102.7 million likes on Facebook, over 63.8 million followers on Instagram, and over 29 million followers on Twitter.
1 REAL MADRID – YEARLY REVENUE: $735 MILLION
An unprecedented success in the UEFA Champions League can mean only one thing and that is an unprecedented success in revenue!
Real Madrid Club de Fútbol won its third successive Champions League trophy last season, which helped bump earnings for the overall year.
Los Blancos has been performing very well in all its leagues and has won several awards, including over 30 La Liga titles.
The Madrid-based club is regarded as the second richest soccer club in the world by Forbes.
Real is also has the most followers on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
WRAP UP
These top 10 richest clubs in the world rankings have been based on their match-day revenues, broadcasting money, and commercial deals during the 2017-2018 season.
Now it is over to those of you who may disagree with this list of the top 10 richest clubs in the world. You may go ahead and note your view in the comment box.
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And if you also feel the positioning of the various clubs should have been otherwise, feel free to also state it below.
This article was most recently revised and updated 3 years ago
