Bayern Munich fall to sixth place among richest clubs in world football

The new edition of the Deloitte Football Money league is out and ... Bayern Munich are SIXTH? We were fourth last year, what happened? Apparently, the culprit is the EPL (as always).

Manchester City top the standings for the second time, with an overall revenue of €731m. This is the first time they’ve ever topped the money league table, and that revenue number looks totally legitimate. Next comes Real Madrid, the current holders of the Champions League, who managed €713.8m. Fellow finalists Liverpool FC round out the top 3, with €701.7m.

Manchester United and Paris Saint-Germain, two clubs who accomplished nothing noteworthy last year, come in 4th and 5th place respectively. That United somehow manage to be in the top of these rankings year after year despite not even playing in the Champions League is a testament to the financial juggernaut that is the EPL TV deal.

Just outside the top 5 is Bayern Munich, with €653.6m in total revenue. Here’s a quick breakdown:

• Total revenue is UP 7% compared to the previous year.
• €378m (58%) of the total was commercial revenue. This is the 2nd highest on the list, behind only PSG (€383m) whose revenue sources are, of course, totally legitimate.
• €207m (32%) of the total was broadcast revenue.
• €68m (10%) of the total was matchday revenue.
• The club’s wage to revenue ratio stands at a very healthy 53%. Compare this to Madrid, who are at 73%.
• €1.7m was generated by the women’s team. It’s actually a mediocre number overall — for comparison, UWCL finalists FC Barcelona generated €7.7m. This is the first time Deloitte has tracked women’s team revenue separately.
• This is the first time since 2006/07 that Bayern Munich have failed to make the top 5 of the money league. It’s only the fifth time that Bayern have ever been out of the top 5. The club has never been outside the top 10 in since Deloitte started publishing this list.

The only other Bundesliga club in the top 20 is Borussia Dortmund, who have slipped one place from 12th to 13th with an overall revenue of €356.9m. The only other German team in the top 30 was Eintracht Frankfurt, courtesy of their Europa League triumph, in 22nd place.

The current ranking paints a bleak picture for the Bundesliga as a whole, with the EPL dominance only getting stronger. At the rate we’re going, the Premier League turning into Europe’s de facto Super League seems like an inevitability.

See the full list and report for yourself on Deloitte’s website.