Real Madrid has remained football’s biggest money maker for the eighth straight year as many of Europe’s leading football clubs shrugged off the economic hardship engulfing the continent and boosted their revenue, AP reports.
Real Madrid became the first sports team anywhere to break the €500 million ($666 million) revenue barrier as they stayed ahead of Spanish rival Barcelona in the Football Money League compiled by accountancy firm Deloitte.
Both teams saw their income rise by 7% during the 2011-12 season with Madrid taking in €512.6 million ($683 million) and Barcelona €483 million ($643million).
While the top six teams remained unchanged, only third-place Manchester United revenue’s dropped, with a fall of 3 percent to 320.3 million pounds ($507 million) after exiting last season’s Champions League at the group stage led to a reduction in television income.
United is followed by Bayern Munich on €368.4 million ($490 million), European champion Chelsea on 261 million pounds ($413 million) and Arsenal on 234.9 million pounds ($372 million).
The complete top 20 is: Real Madrid, Barcelona, Manchester United, Bayern Munich, Chelsea, Arsenal, ManchesterCity, AC Milan, Liverpool, Juventus, Borussia Dortmund, Inter Milan, Tottenham, Schalke, Napoli, Marseille, Lyon, Hamburg, AS Roma, Newcastle.
