The Definitive Ranking of Football’s Wealthiest Clubs in 2025
Football is more than just a sport; it’s a global business that attracts the world’s richest countries and enterprises!
Earning the most money allows you to attract worldwide stars, dominate competitions, and benefit from massive revenues through sponsorships, ticket sales, and merchandising. These revenue figures enable clubs to sustain success on the field and attract fans and viewers worldwide.
Usually, football’s wealthiest clubs have star-studded teams, iconic rivalries, and significant influence on the world of sports. In this page, we’ve looked at the richest football clubs in the world and explored what makes them financial powerhouses.
Richest Football Clubs

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Real Madrid
Winner of 36 Spanish titles and 15 Champions Leagues, Real Madrid is undoubtedly one of the biggest football clubs in the world. Los Blancos was founded in 1902 by a group of Oxford and Cambridge graduates.
The team’s all-white kit was an homage to Corinthian, a prominent English club that espoused the principles of fair play and spread the game of football around the world.
Real Madrid has consistently performed at the highest level. When the competition launched, the team won the first five European Cup titles and the first Intercontinental Cup, a challenge match between the Copa Libertadores winners and European Cup winners.
Over 120 years later, the club is still a beacon of excellence in football, home to some of the best footballers in the world, like Kylian Mbappe and Jude Bellingham. In 2024, Forbes valued Real Madrid at nearly $6.6 billion.
Manchester United

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An iconic football club synonymous with English football, Manchester United emerged from the Premier League era to become one of the world’s richest and most prominent European teams.
Founded as Newton Heath in 1878 before becoming Manchester United in 1902, the Red Devils have been crowned English champions 20 times and won three UEFA Champions League titles and a Europa League title.
Manchester United made over $166 million in sponsorship, over $100 million in retail sales, and over $220 million from broadcast deals in 2023/24, totaling over half a billion dollars of revenue.
Despite a barren few years on the pitch, winning just two trophies since 2020, the club remains a titan in global football and possibly the most recognizable brand in football. Forbes valued Manchester United at $6.5 billion in 2024.
FC Barcelona

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Winner of 27 La Liga titles and 31 Copa del Rey titles, FC Barcelona is a colossal brand in sports history thanks to its status as the home of some of football’s greatest players like Luis Suarez, Diego Maradona, Lionel Messi, Ronaldinho, and Xavi to name a few.
Barca’s status as one of football’s greatest teams was exemplified by its 2024 sponsorship deal with Nike, which has a reported value of nearly $129 million annually.
The club is worth an estimated $4.1 billion, but, along with its Spanish rival Real Madrid, it has suffered from debt problems in recent years, with an estimated debt of over $1.4 billion.
Liverpool FC

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Worth an estimated $5.7 billion, Liverpool FC has been, along with Manchester City, dominant in English and European football for much of the 2010s and 2020s.
Owned by the Fenway Sports Group, the owners of another historic sports franchise, Boston Red Sox, the team generated nearly $725 million in 2024 and almost $137 million in merchandise sales. The club plays at the 61,000-seat Anfield Stadium, sold out for every first-team fixture in 2023/24.
The Reds are also a commercial juggernaut, benefiting from a four-year deal with Standard Chartered Bank for front-of-shirt sponsorship worth $63 million per year and a $36 million a year deal with Nike to manufacture its shirts and training wear.
Overall, the club is regarded as one of the best-run clubs in the Premier League and one of the most valuable soccer teams in the world.
Bayern Munich

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Bayern Munich is the dominant force in German football and a major force in European football. The side is known in Germany as FC Hollywood thanks to its rotating cast of stars, currently headlined by England captain Harry Kane. The club is also a commercial behemoth due to its structure.
Despite being a members organization, like all German clubs, Bayern’s football operations are managed by a joint stock company owned by the club along with major German corporations Adidas, Audi, and Allianz – each of which sponsors the club.
Adidas acquired its 8.33% share for $78 million in 2002, Audi purchased the same slice of the club for $92 million in 2009, and Allianz bought its share for $116 million in 2014. Forbes values the whole club at $5 billion, and it has a revenue of $696 million.
Paris Saint-Germain

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Owned by Qatar Sports Investments, an offshoot of the sovereign wealth fund of the gas-rich Gulf state of Qatar, French club Paris Saint-Germain has accelerated towards the top of the football rich list since its takeover in 2011.
Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, the Emir of Qatar, has the final say on all decisions involving the club and has wielded his influence to sign a number of star players, including Neymar and Lionel Messi.
The club has used this influence to expand massively commercially. The Deloitte Football Money League has estimated that the club generated $822 million in revenue in 2022/23, meaning the club is valued at $4.4 billion in 2024.
Manchester City

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Another Gulf petrostate club, Manchester City, is wholly owned by City Football Group, an Emirati company worth $5.1 billion in 2024. The group operates clubs worldwide, including Manchester City, Melbourne City, New York City FC, and Girona in Spain.
The group has spread the City brand worldwide, leading to exponential growth since the club was taken over by the Abu Dhabi royal family in 2008.
Under its Emirati ownership, the club has won eight Premier League titles, a UEFA Champions League, three FA Cup titles, and six League Cup titles.
Chelsea FC

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Chelsea FC was one of the first English clubs to benefit from large-scale investment from the former owner of Russian oil company Sibneft, Roman Abramovich. The club was propelled to the top of the Premier League thanks to the Russian oligarch’s riches.
Under the tutelage of Jose Mourinho, the club won two successive Premier League titles. After the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the club was sold to Todd Boehly, owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers, and has continued its ascent to the top of the football-rich list. It is worth an estimated $3.1 billion as of 2024.
Tottenham Hotspur

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Tottenham Hotspur is another English club that has developed since the mid-2010s to become a huge financial force in the football world.
The club has benefitted from the frugal on-field management of Daniel Levy, known as one of the best negotiators in world football, to invest significant amounts in its squad and compete at the top of the Premier League. The club is worth an estimated $3.2 billion, according to Forbes, and generates $647 million in revenue, according to Deloitte.
Juventus

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Owned by the Agnelli family since 1922, the operators of the world-famous Fiat car brand, Juventus is known as the Grand Old Lady thanks to its consistent and unwavering success in Italian football.
The Torinese side has won 71 titles in its history – 61 Italian titles and 11 international titles, including two Champions Leagues and three UEFA Cups.
Despite this, it has not always been plain sailing for the Bianconeri. The club was forcibly relegated in 2006 due to the Calciopoli scandal and struggled to return to the top of the Italian pyramid.
Under the guidance of Antonio Conte, the club returned to the summit with an unbeaten 2011-12 season, the first of ten successive titles. Today, the club generates around $443 million in revenue and is worth an estimated $2 billion.
Arsenal FC

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One of London’s biggest football clubs and famous worldwide, Arsenal’s trophy cabinet is well stocked with 13 Premier League titles, 14 FA Cups, two EFL Cups, and a UEFA Cup Winners Cup.
The Gunners’ 2003-04 team, known as The Invincibles, was only the second team in English history to go unbeaten for an entire season. Its stars, like Theirry Henry, Patrick Vieira, and Dennis Bergkamp, established Arsenal as a globally known football club.
Today, it is one of the most commercially successful sides in the world, valued at $2.6 billion and generating revenues of nearly $544 million in 2024.
Borussia Dortmund

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Home of the world-famous “Yellow Wall,” a 24,000-capacity terrace, and potentially one of the most famous stands in world football, Borussia Dortmund is the second largest club by membership in Germany after Bayern Munich and the fifth largest sports club by membership in the world.
In recent years, the club has become known for developing young players for sale on the international player market, selling Erling Haaland to English club Manchester City, Jadon Sancho to Manchester United, and Jude Bellingham to Real Madrid in the last few years.
The club is worth an estimated $1.9 billion and has a reported sponsorship revenue of $143.3 million.
Inter Milan

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Another of Italy’s largest and most successful football clubs, Internazionale Milano, or Inter Milan, has won 20 Italian titles and three Champions League titles since its founding in 1908. In recent years, the club has experienced ups and downs but has rallied and reached the final of the 2023 Champions League and won the Serie A title in 2021 and 2024.
For years, Massimo Moratti personally bankrolled the club, but it was purchased by Indonesian businessman Erick Thohir in 2013 before Suning Holdings Group, the club’s current owners, bought it in 2016. Inter is worth an estimated $1 billion and generated $386 million in revenue in 2024.
Atletico Madrid

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Atletico Madrid has rocketed to football’s top echelons since 2011, when Argentine manager Diego Simeone arrived at the Vicente Calderón. While Atleti had won nine titles before Simeone’s arrival, El Cholo broke the dominance of the Spanish duopoly of Barcelona and arch-rivals Real Madrid.
After sustained success on and off the field, including domestic titles in 2014 and 2021, a Copa del Rey win against Real in 2013, two Europa League titles in 2012 and 2018, and two Champions League finals in 2014 and 2016, the club is much healthier financially.
It moved into a new stadium in 2017, and Forbes values Atleti at $1.6 billion, with revenues of $372 million. The club coffers have swelled to allow Atleti to rebuild their side again in recent years, with Julian Alverez and Conor Gallagher arriving to reinvigorate the Rojiblancos’ attack.
AS Roma

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Playing in the Italian capital at the Stadio Olimpico, AS Roma is one of the biggest clubs in Italy and Europe. Owned by The Friedkin Group, owners of Gulf State Toyota, which also owns Everton FC. In 2024, the club was valued at around $600 million and generated around $307 million revenues.
The club has several high-value sponsorships totaling $15.2 million annually, including Adidas, Riyadh Season, Hyundai, and Zytara.
Everton FC

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Another club owned by The Friedkin Group, Everton is one of the most famous football clubs in England. The team has never been relegated from the Premier League.
Despite the club’s recent financial struggles, Friedkin purchased the Toffees from Farhad Moshiri for nearly $540 billion, and the club looks set to generate more significant commercial revenues in the coming years from a move to a new stadium.
How We Picked the Richest Clubs in World Football
We didn’t select the richest clubs at random. Our team analyzed key factors like ownership stability, sponsorship deals, ticket sales, youth development, and global economic trends to determine which clubs truly dominate the financial landscape of world football. Below, we explore each factor in detail.
Ownership
Strong and stable ownership is the cornerstone of a football club’s strategy and ability to generate revenue. A turbulent ownership model can affect on-field performance, reducing a club’s value in the long term.
When we examined the richest clubs in world football, we looked for teams with solid ownership, a long history of success, and deep enough pockets to sustain long-term success. Clubs like Manchester City and Paris St-Germain, effectively owned by states that have led to significant cash injections, feature prominently alongside clubs like Juventus and Chelsea, which wealthy individuals own.
Sponsorship
Sponsorships and partnerships are crucial ways for football clubs to generate funds. With so much exposure available on the biggest football competitions, companies value partnerships with football teams.
Long-term partnerships, like Bayern Munich’s partnership with Adidas, Audi, and Allianz, foster long-term wealth. When assessing the richest clubs in world football, we examined the total value of sponsorships.
Ticket Sales
While television contracts and sponsorships generate a large amount of football team revenue in the modern era, the richest clubs still sell stadiums out regularly. Clubs invest in the matchday experience all the time, with the richest clubs building and renovating stadiums to create a world-class environment for fans.
Supporters respond to this, and the best and richest clubs routinely sell out stadiums, which we analyze to produce our richest club rankings.
Youth Development
With a growing and rapidly expanding transfer market and a gradually expanding financial regulation in football surrounding profit and loss, youth development is the key to maintaining a football club’s place at the top of the global pyramid.
Sales from your players can boost your balance sheet and enable you to fund purchases of the world’s best players. Clubs like Borussia Dortmund, Chelsea, and Manchester City have excelled in selling young talent for profit.
Economic Trends
Global economic trends and politics can significantly impact football. Events like the conflict in Ukraine have caused clubs like Chelsea and Everton to change leadership. In the past, decreases in commodities markets have caused clubs to curtail spending or enabled individuals to purchase clubs and invest significant funds. We have examined economic trends to project the world’s richest football clubs.
The Future of Wealth in Football
The teams listed in this article represent the financial powerhouses of global football, combining historic success, commercial might, and immense global reach.
The wealth stems from various factors, including stable ownership, lucrative sponsorship deals, world-class stadiums, and youth development systems that keep the team and the balance sheet healthy.
However, football’s landscape constantly changes, and competitors are always just around the corner to challenge the elite. Manchester City and Chelsea’s emergence at the top of the global rankings was due to the enormous financial injections from owners.
In that vein, we should expect Newcastle United, owned by the Saudi Investment Fund, to grace the list in future years.
Similarly, as competitions like the FIFA Club World Cup enter the calendar with massive cash prizes and leagues in Asia and America, like the Saudi Pro League, Brazilian Serie A, and Major League football, gain more prominence, we might expect to see a less Euro-centric list in the future as football’s financial might spreads around the world.
While the teams on the list dominate today, the next decade may see new contenders reshaping the football rich list as economic trends shift and new markets emerge.