Man Utd plummets down Deloitte Football Money League | OneFootball

Manchester United have plummeted to their lowest ever position in the Deloitte Football Money League, while rivals Liverpool emerge as England's highest-earning club for the first time.

Once the undisputed commercial powerhouse, topping the league in 10 of its 29 editions, United now languish in eighth place in the 2026 rankings.

This decline is largely attributed to a substantial drop in broadcast revenue, falling from 258 million euros (£224.7m) to 206 million euros (£179.4m), a direct consequence of their absence from the Champions League in the 2024-25 season.

The financial woes are set to deepen, with the club anticipating even lower matchday revenue this season due to their complete exclusion from European competition.

Furthermore, early exits from domestic cups mean Old Trafford will host a mere 20 competitive fixtures in 2025-26, further impacting income.

Tim Bridge, the Sports Business Group Leader at Deloitte, told the Press Association: “The clubs with the biggest football club brands and position in the market have an opportunity to broaden their reach and offer more to fans on a matchday, offer more to fans on a non-matchday, and become a more 365-days-a-year touch point. United are probably only just starting that journey now, because of the reported stadium development.

“If you went back 10 or 15 years, and you looked at Manchester United’s matchday revenue it was the industry leader. If you looked at their ability to generate commercial revenue, it was the benchmark by which everybody then went to market and set their strategy. I don’t think that remains the case.

“The opportunity remains for Manchester United. They are arguably still the biggest global football club brand, and therefore they have the opportunity to maximise that in a way that is only possible for a select few.

“But to do that requires fit-for-purpose facilities. As the industry evolves, clubs should ask themselves whether there is a need to rethink how they engage with fans and how that relationship works.

“With reports of the new stadium, it is clear they have started to do some of that, so it’s very clear they’re thinking in that way. Their timing of making that change is behind Real Madrid and Barcelona, but the opportunity remains.”

Sir Jim Ratcliffe talking to CEO Omar Berrada (centre) and technical director Jason Wilcox (Jacob King/PA) (PA Wire)

United are the fourth-placed English club in the 2026 Money League behind Liverpool, Manchester City and Arsenal, with Real Madrid top as they became the first team to record revenue over one billion euros – 1.161bn euros or £1.01bn.

Liverpool sit fifth after their return to the Champions League in 2024-25 and a seven per cent increase in commercial revenue from non-matchday events at Anfield.

It is the first time there has not been an English team in the Money League top four, with Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Paris St Germain all benefiting from going deep in the newly-expanded Champions League and the expanded FIFA Club World Cup in the summer.

Deloitte said that the Club World Cup had resulted in a 17 per cent average uplift in broadcast revenues for the 10 Money League clubs who had been involved.

Premier League teams may expect to fare better generally in the 2027 Money League, which will be the first to reflect the new broadcast deal which runs to 2029, but Bridge said the best-performing clubs would continue to be those who match on-field success with diversification off it.

“The trick to staying (in the top five) is maintaining both of those. It used to be you only had to maintain one of them. Now, in 2026, we’re at a point where the highest revenue generating clubs are probably broader than football,” he said.

Manchester City’s sixth place was their lowest since the Covid-19-impacted season of 2019-20.

In all, nine Premier League clubs made it into the top 20 of the Money League, with Tottenham (ninth), Chelsea (10th), Aston Villa (14th), Newcastle (17th) and West Ham (20th).