2 Mar 2010Manchester United drop to third in football rich list

Football Clubs News | Football Finance News

Manchester United have been overtaken by Barcelona in the annual league table of the world's wealthiest football clubs.

According to accountancy firm Deloitte's Football Money League, Barcelona rose to second place thanks to annual revenues of €366 million (£311.7 million), while the Old Trafford side dropped to third with €327 million.

Real Madrid remain top of the list, having become the first sports team in the world to see their annual revenues pass through the €400 million barrier in 2008/09.

Paul Rawnsley, director of Deloitte's Sports Business Group, said that top clubs are "well placed to meet the challenges presented by the difficult economic environment".

Overall revenues for the top 20 clubs, which included seven English sides in total, increased to €3.9 billion.

Arsenal climbed one place to number five with revenues of €263 million, while Chelsea (€242.3 million) and Liverpool (€217 million) were at numbers six and seven respectively.

Last month, data from Portuguese marketing agency Futebol Finance revealed that four of the five highest-paid footballers in the world play for either Real Madrid or Barcelona.

Written by Terry Mitchell

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