How Liverpool Earned More Revenue Than Any Other Premier League Club Last Season

Not only did Liverpool win the Premier League in the 2024/25 season, they also earned more money than any other English club during that period.

Data covering the 2024/25 campaign was published by Deloitte this week in the 2026 edition of the Deloitte Football Money League, which ranks the world’s highest-earning football clubs based on their total revenues from matchday, broadcasting and commercial activity.

Although the latest edition is called the Deloitte Football Money League 2026, the data all relates to the 2024/25 season, with clubs ranked by the income generated during that financial year.

What is the Deloitte Football Money League?

The Deloitte Football Money League is an annual financial study that measures how much revenue the world’s biggest football clubs generate across a single season.

Rather than focusing on profit or spending, the report looks only at income from three main sources:

1. Matchday revenue from ticket sales and hospitality
2. Broadcasting revenue from domestic and international competitions
3. Commercial revenue from sponsorships, retail and other business activity

Importantly, transfer fees are not included in the rankings. Money earned from selling players does not count as revenue in the Money League, and money spent on new signings is also excluded, meaning the table reflects business performance rather than success in the transfer market.

Each edition of the report is named after the year of publication, but the figures themselves always relate to the previous completed season. That is why the Money League 2026 report reflects revenue generated during the 2024/25 campaign.

Liverpool 5th in Deloitte Football Money League 2026

Liverpool finished fifth overall in the global rankings. The only clubs above them were Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain, making Liverpool the highest-earning Premier League club for the first time in the history of the Money League.

The Reds recorded total revenue of €836.1m, placing them ahead of Manchester City, Arsenal, Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea, all of whom also featured inside the global top ten.

Meanwhile, the top 20 also includes Aston Villa, Newcastle and West Ham United. However, the Hammers’ strong 2024/25 performance will count for little if they are relegated from the Premier League in 2025/26, although West Ham’s wage bill would also drop significantly if they do go down.

While Liverpool did not break into the top four worldwide, their position still represents a significant commercial achievement, particularly given how often English financial leadership has previously been dominated by the two Manchester clubs.

Their rise was driven by steady growth across all three revenue streams rather than one single source.

Football clubs with the highest revenues in 2024/25 season

Rank	Club	Rank last year	2024/25 revenue
1	Real Madrid	1	€1,161m (£975m)
2	Barcelona	6	€974.8m (£819m)
3	Bayern Munich	5	€860.6m (£723m)
4	Paris Saint-Germain	3	€837m (£703m)
5	Liverpool	8	€836.1m (£702m)
6	Manchester City	2	€829.3m (£697m)
7	Arsenal	7	€821.7m (£690m)
8	Manchester United	4	€793.1m (£666m)
9	Tottenham Hotspur	9	€672.6m (£565m)
10	Chelsea	10	€584.1m (£491m)
11	Inter Milan	14	€537.5m (£452m)
12	Borussia Dortmund	11	€531.3m (£446m)
13	Atletico Madrid	12	€454.5m (£382m)
14	Aston Villa	18	€450.2m (£378m)
15	AC Milan	13	€410.4m (£345m)
16	Juventus	16	€401.7m (£337m)
17	Newcastle United	15	€398.4m (£335m)
18	VfB Stuttgart	N/A	€296.3m (£249m)
19	Benfica	25	€283.4m (£238m)
20	West Ham United	17	€276m (£232m)

How did Liverpool make so much money?

Liverpool’s return to the Champions League in 2024/25 helped drive a clear improvement in revenue compared to the previous season, when they were competing in the Europa League. UEFA’s expanded format delivered higher broadcast distributions and rewarded strong league-phase results, which contributed to Liverpool’s overall uplift.

Liverpool only reached the round of 16, but they accrued significant prize money during the league phase after finishing in first place having won seven of their eight fixtures — a record that will be broken next week if Arsenal extend their Champions League winning streak to eight games at home to Kairat Almaty.

However, Champions League participation alone does not explain why Liverpool finished as the highest-earning English club. Manchester City, Arsenal and Aston Villa were also in the competition, and Arsenal progressed further by reaching the semi-finals.

A key additional factor was matchday growth following the expansion of Anfield. The redevelopment of the Anfield Road Stand pushed the stadium’s capacity beyond 60,000 for the first time, rising to more than 61,000 ahead of the 2024/25 season. That allowed the club to sell more tickets and hospitality packages across domestic and European fixtures, strengthening matchday income across the campaign.

Liverpool’s Premier League title also contributed financially. League position affects the distribution of domestic broadcast revenue, meaning champions receive a larger share of central payments, while success on the pitch naturally boosts commercial performance through merchandise sales and sponsorship exposure.

Commercial revenue itself continued to grow, supported by strong retail performance and increased use of Anfield for non-matchday events such as corporate functions and hospitality.

As highlighted in Deloitte’s latest report, clubs are increasingly monetising their stadiums as year-round venues rather than facilities used only on matchdays.

A record low for Manchester United

Manchester United’s drop to eighth in the rankings marked their lowest position since the Money League began nearly three decades ago.

Despite modest growth in matchday and commercial income, United’s overall revenue was held back by a sharp fall in broadcasting revenue after missing out on Champions League football and exiting domestic cup competitions early.

European absence does not only reduce prize money but also limits the number of high-profile fixtures that drive global exposure, hospitality sales and sponsor activation. For a club that once set the commercial benchmark in world football, the financial impact of sustained on-pitch decline is becoming increasingly visible.

United’s figures underline how dependent modern revenue models have become on consistent participation in elite competitions, particularly as domestic broadcast markets across Europe begin to stabilise rather than grow.

Real Madrid and Barcelona still the benchmark

While Liverpool topped the English table, they still finished well behind the two Spanish giants who continue to dominate football’s financial landscape.

Real Madrid once again generated more than €1bn in revenue, driven largely by extraordinary commercial performance and continued monetisation of the redeveloped Bernabeu, which now hosts major events well beyond football.

Barcelona returned to second place with strong overall revenue, maintained despite playing away from their traditional home while the Camp Nou redevelopment progressed, helped by significant commercial and sponsorship income.

Both clubs are operating business models that go beyond traditional football income, combining global retail operations, premium stadium experiences and massive brand partnerships to generate revenue at a scale few others can currently match.