Real Madrid is still the top moneymaking club in world football, beating out European Cup champion Manchester United due to the plunging pound, according to the latest review of the sport’s finances.
Deloitte’s study, which ranks the 20 biggest clubs based on revenue, showed that Madrid generated Euro365.8 million in the 12 months to June 30, 2008.
The Red Devils would have ended their season leading the Football Money League if the pound had not depreciated against the Euro. Had the pound stayed steady at the June 2007 rate, United’s revenue of £257.1 million would have equated to Euro382 million rather Euro324.8 million by last June.
“Whilst Real Madrid’s 4 percent revenue growth in 2007-08 is more modest than recent years, the club has now doubled its revenues since 2002 and enjoys a lead of Euro41 million over Manchester United,” said Dan Jones of Deloitte’s sports business group.
“With the club having announced that it is budgeting for revenues of Euro400 million in 2008-09, it will be difficult for rivals to replace Real at the top of the Money League next year.”
Despite a 31st Spanish league title, Madrid’s commercial revenue dropped 5%. It is blamed on lower shirt sponsorship income following the bankruptcy of BenQ Mobile and the loss of midfielder David Beckham to the Los Angeles Galaxy in 2007.
“It will be interesting to see how the club copes with the loss of the Brand Beckham effect and the challenging commercial market that clubs are now facing,” the report said.
Deloitte only used revenue as its ranking and not the wealth of individual club owners, including Chelsea’s Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich.
Spanish league leader Barcelona was provided with an uplift, like Madrid, by individually negotiated broadcast contracts in place until 2013-14, and is third with revenue of Euro308.8 million.
“The fact that if today’s exchange rates were applied United would have finished below Barcelona, emphasises the impact that exchange rate movements have had on English clubs’ relative ranking in this year’s list,” Jones said. “Aston Villa, Everton and West Ham United can all consider themselves unlucky to have missed out on a top 20 place.”
But the list, which only contains European clubs, was still dominated by the English with seven teams, compared to six the previous year.
German champion Bayern Munich is fourth with revenue of Euro295.3 million, followed by English clubs Chelsea and Arsenal, while Italian teams AC Milan, AS Roma, Inter Milan and Juventus occupy the next spots.
Driven largely by its successful participation in the Champions League, 19th-place Fenerbahce is the first Turkish club to appear since the list was created after the 1996-97 season. Only six clubs in the top 20 did not participate in Europe’s lucrative competition.
Deloitte was investigating a period before the economic downturn took hold, but its analysts believe the strength of broadcast controls will provide a stable revenue stream in the coming years.
While Deloitte concludes that football will be resistant, not immune, to the financial meltdown, it warns club owners that they will struggle to secure credit and invest in stadiums.


The 20 richest football clubs: 1. Real Madrid, Spain, Euro365.8 million. 2. Manchester United, England, Euro324.8 million. 3. Barcelona, Spain, Euro308.8 million. 4. Bayern Munich, Germany, Euro295.3 million. 5. Chelsea, England, Euro268.9 million. 6. Arsenal, England, Euro264.4 million. 7. Liverpool, England, Euro210.9 million. 8. AC Milan, Italy, Euro209.5 million. 9. AS Roma, Italy, Euro175.4 million. 10. Inter Milan, Italy, Euro172.9 million. 11. Juventus, Italy, Euro167.5 million. 12. Lyon, France, Euro155.7 million. 13. Schalke, Germany, Euro148.4 million. 14. Tottenham, England, Euro145 million. 15. Hamburg, Germany, Euro127.9 million. 16. Marseille, France, Euro126.8 million. 17. Newcastle, England, Euro125.6 million. 18. Stuggart, Germany, Euro111.5 million. 19. Fenerbahce, Turkey, Euro111.3 million. 20. Manchester City, England, Euro104 million.

Manager David Moyes has ceased speculation over his future by signing a new five-year deal at Everton.
Moyes, 45, delayed signing the deal and acknowledged it may have unnerved his team after they were KO’d of the Carling Cup and the Uefa Cup.

“There have been many different things for different reasons,” Moyes told the club’s website of the delay.

“But we are here now. The big thing for me is that I am at Everton, as far as I am concerned, for another five years.”
Moyes, who’s been in control at Goodison Park since March 2002, has weathered a challenging start to the season with Everton presently fifteenth in the Premier League table with 8 points after 7 games.
And the manager, who’d have been out of contract at the end of the season, added: “The job is to make us better than we have been.