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Manchester City climb into Deloitte top 10 earners after league title• Real Madrid stay No1 and topped €500m revenue last season
Manchester City experienced a 51% increase in revenue to €285.6m, mainly due to a 28% increase in broadcast income and a near doubling of commercial revenue. Photograph: Alex Morton/Action Images
Manchester City's first Premier League title and inaugural season in the Champions League have helped them climb five places in Deloitte's annual survey of the 20 biggest earners in football, meaning that half of the top 10 clubs come from England.

For the eighth year running Real Madrid were the top-earning club in Europe, with revenues of €513m (£431m). The Spanish club took over top spot from Manchester United in 2003-04 and have held it since.

Barcelona, who also benefit from a TV money distribution model that reserves the lion's share for the two biggest clubs in Spain, were ranked second with revenues of €483m to complete a Spanish top two for the fourth year running. Manchester City's rise was powered by a 51% increase in revenue to €285.6m, mainly due to a 28% increase in broadcast income and a near doubling of commercial revenue thanks to a new agreement with Etihad.

Newcastle United were the one new entry, into the list at 20 and replacing Valencia. The collective strength of the Premier League, where broadcast revenues are shared more equally than in Spain, is reflected in there being seven English clubs in the top 20 and four more (Everton, Aston Villa, Fulham and Sunderland) just outside.

Deloitte, which ranks clubs according to how much money they bring in from matchday, commercial and media income but does not measure their profitability or indebtedness, said Real Madrid had become the first club in any sport to surpass the €500m revenue barrier in a single year.

The top six clubs remained unchanged for the sixth successive year, emphasising the extent to which success has enabled the biggest clubs to further increase their commercial revenues abroad.

"They are the teams with the biggest fan bases, at home and internationally," said Adam Bull, a senior consultant at Deloitte's Sports Business Group. "They continue to attract the largest commercial deals and generate the highest matchday revenue."

But he said that Chelsea's failure to break into the top four, despite winning the Champions League, showed the extent to which the London club were constrained by their inability to increase matchday income in light of the relatively small capacity of Stamford Bridge.

The Deloitte report paints a picture of ongoing revenue growth for Europe's top clubs, despite the recession that has gripped the continent, thanks to improved commercial deals and increased TV income. Bull said the top four clubs were continuing to pull away from the rest in revenue terms. Real Madrid's annual income is double that of Milan's in eighth place.

In all, the combined revenues of the top 20 clubs rose 10% to €4.8bn during the 2011-12 season and that total was four times the amount in 1996-97, the first year that Deloitte compiled the figures.

But Uefa's forthcoming benchmarking report is expected to show the flipside of the story – that increased revenues have been accompanied by rising costs, driven by the wage inflation that has outstripped revenue growth for many clubs.

The Uefa president, Michel Platini, hopes the Financial Fair Play rules introduced last season, limiting clubs to €45m in losses over a three-year period, will help reduce debts.

But others fear it will decrease competitiveness and enable those already making the most money to pull further away from the pack.

The German Football Association on Wednesday claimed on Wednesday the Bundesliga was one of the most sustainable leagues in Europe. Its 18 clubs posted combined record turnover of €2.08bn in 2011-12, up more than 7% on the previous season, with 14 of the 18 clubs profitable.

"The Bundesliga is well equipped to deal with the challenges ahead," said the DFL chief executive, Christian Seifert. "The foundations for this successful path are financial good sense as well as targeted investment in sporting efficiency and infrastructure."


Position Club Revenue (€m)

(last season) 2011-12 (2010-11)

1 (1) Real Madrid 512.6 (479.5)

2 (2) Barcelona 483 (450.7)

3 (3) Manchester Utd 395.9 (367)

4 (4) Bayern Munich 368.4 (321.4)

5 (5) Chelsea 322.6 (253.1)

6 (6) Arsenal 290.3 (251.1)

7 (12) Manchester City 285.6 (169.6)

8 (7) Milan 256.9 (234.8)

9 (9) Liverpool 233.2 (203.3)

10 (13) Juventus 195.4 (153.9)

11 (16) Borussia Dortmund 189.1 (138.5)

12 (8) Internazionale 185.9 (211.4)

13 (11) Tottenham 178.2 (181)

14 (10) Schalke 174.5 (202.4)

15 (20) Napoli 148.4 (114.9)

16 (14) Marseille 135.7 (150.4)

17 (17) Lyon 131.9 (132.8)

18 (18) Hamburg 121.1 (128.8)

19 (15) Roma 115.9 (143.5)

20 (-) Newcastle United 115.3 (98)