The label Richest Football club and the sport of football have engaged fans for eras with its fast-paced, action-packed, thrill-a-minute gameplay and the excitement it brings to football fans.
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Each year the title of Richest Football Club is broadcast worldwide, and although there are no titles or trophies awarded for this, it does add a bit of cachet to know that your football club can afford any player it desires. Over the years, the sport has become the most-viewed sports game, garnering a following of billions who watch the matches worldwide. However, not many people realize how much money circulates within the football industry. If players make over $100 million a year, you can only imagine what the clubs themselves are accumulating.
Let’s look at some of the world’s wealthiest football clubs and how they attained this coveted spot on the podium.
Who is the Wealthiest Football Club
The title of the world’s richest club has changed many times in the last few years. However, in 2017 the top spot was none other than the renowned Manchester United. The English giants managed to rake in more than $850 million. In 2018, the Red Devils clinched the number 1 position, again with revenue surpassing the $737 million mark. The Premier League has attracted Billionaire buyers in recent times. Where else could Newcastle be the richest club in the world? The Premier League attracts the most viewership compared to other major football leagues.
The popularity of the English Premier League means that the earnings from various sources make it The richest league in the world. First Chelsea, then Arsenal and Man Utd got taken over by US-based billionaires. Other leagues boast fantastically wealthy football clubs, as we note further down.
La Liga Clubs Are Wealthy Too
Real Madrid just managed to pip Barcelona for the top position with revenue estimated to be over $896 million this last year.. 2022 has seen yet another change in the upper echelons of the sport as a new report released this year has shown that the Catalan football giants FC Barcelona have laid claim to the number 1 spot. Although things are not going as smoothly as they would have hoped in terms of the internal politics of the club, they have still come away as the team that has recorded the highest revenue for the current season, which shot them to the top.
FC Barcelona has captured the hearts of fans across the globe with their energetic style of football and star players who have boosted the clubs’ earnings. According to the Deloitte Money League, the current La Liga leaders took the top spot after the revenue brought in over the year totalled more than $936.7 million. Incidentally, this is the first time in history that the Spanish football giants have taken the throne and the first time they have broken the $900 million mark.
Real Madrid or Los Blancos are the other giants of Spanish Football who can boast of being the Wealthiest Football Club in the world at some stage. The team signs up all of the top individual talents, and they are famously known as Galacticos. Real Madrid is famous for winning the most European Cup titles, and their famous white strip has featured some of the finest players to grace a football field.
Richest Footballers
Cristiano Ronaldo, or CR7, is perhaps the most famous player of modern times. The man from Madeira, an Instagram phenomenon, is a football and business genius. Guaranteed to sell shirts & put bums on seats, his talent and determination to score have seen Madrid capture numerous titles. Now at Manchester United and still getting goals & earning hundreds of millions.
Lionel Messi is, without a doubt, the player who has launched FC Barcelona to reach the top of the table in league and cup terms. This has made him one of the highest earners in football. This is the club that brought Maradona to Europe, but Messi leads the way. Incredibly popular football magician, he recently landed up at Paris Saint Germain.
This year though, it’s Kylian Mbappé Lottin who leads in earnings. He has won it all except for the European Champions League. Part of the triumvirate of Messi, Neymar and Mbappé. The young man is the scorer of the winning goal in a World Cup Final. 23 years old and the first footballer to take the Wealthiest Footballer label in a generation. It’s been the above 2 footballers for over 10 years! For this current season, Kylian will earn an estimated $123 Million as a football salary.
PSG & Its Qatari owners are desperate to win the Champions League. PSG is the only club in the leagues outside of the UK with the financial power and glamour to lure top players to it.
Serie A Wealthy Football Clubs
For much of the 70s and 80s, Serie A Football Clubs ruled the roost. Consider Van Basten, Gullit, Platini and our favourite, Maradona, attracting the highest calibre players. Serie A Clubs boasted the highest-profile players and, therefore, the most coverage. Juventus, commonly known as The Old Lady, has always been the central power, followed by the Milanese AC and Inter clubs. With Maradona’s genius, Napoli also won two Scudettos and a Eufa Cup title. Naturally, this translated into earnings, and Italian football ruled the roost for that period. Even though those days are over, Italian Football Clubs still maintain a significant presence in the Top 10 Wealthy Football Clubs. Napoli is running away with it all this year. After losing established stars and replacing them with a young team, they occupy top spots in Serie A and the Champions League group.