Abu Dhabi's Man City climbs world money list

Abu Dhabi-owned Manchester City has been named the joint highest climber in the latest Football Money League published by Deloitte.

Manchester City, the reigning Premier League champions, rose to seventh in the table - moving up five places to claim a top 10 position for the first time.

Borussia Dortmund (11th) and Napoli (15th) also moved up five places, Deloitte said in a statement.

Austin Houlihan, senior manager in the Sports Business Group at Deloitte, said: “Manchester City’s Premier League title winning season combined with participation in the UEFA Champions League, helped drive 51 percent revenue growth to €285.6m ($380.4m), the largest absolute and relative growth of any Money League club. 

"The club’s progress to the top of the English and European game means that they are set to remain a top 10 Money League club for the foreseeable future, and will look to push on ahead of the two English clubs immediately above them in the Money League, Arsenal and Chelsea, for a top five ranking.”

Last month, the club announced that the club more than halved its losses, reporting a net loss of £97.9m ($157.9m) in 2011-12, down from £197.5m in the previous season.

The reigning Premier League champions, bankrolled by Sheikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, a member of Abu Dhabi's ruling family, also reported that annual turnover broke the £200m threshold for the first time in the club’s history - achieving annual revenues of £231.1m in 2011-12.

The figures were part of the club's annual report which highlighted "the tangible and positive impact of four years of strategic investment in all operations" since the acquisition of the club by Sheikh Mansour in September 2008.

Deloitte said Real Madrid has become the first club in any sport to surpass the €500m revenue threshold in a single year.

The business advisory firm said the Spanish club achieved a €33.1m (seven percent) increase in revenue to €512.6m, and in doing so has claimed the top position in the Money League for a record equalling eighth year, matching Manchester United’s reign from 1996/97 to 2003/04.

The combined revenues of the world’s 20 highest earning football clubs grew 10 percent on the previous year to reach €4.8bn in 2011/12.

Dan Jones, partner in the Sports Business Group at Deloitte, said: “It is an impressive achievement for Real Madrid to have surpassed €500m in revenue in a single year. Real have led the way in the phenomenal rate of revenue growth achieved by the game’s top clubs, with the double digit (10 percent) increase by the top 20 clubs representing continued strong performance in these tough economic times.

“Whilst eight of the top 20 clubs experienced a drop in revenue in 2011/12, in most cases this was due to less successful on-pitch performances in European club competitions, rather than wider recessionary impacts. 

"Combined, the 20 Money League clubs contribute over one-quarter of the total revenues of the European football market.  The top 20 can be expected to generate over €5bn between them in 2012/13.”

For the fifth successive year, the clubs comprising the top six places in the Money League – Real Madrid, FC Barcelona, Manchester United, Bayern Munich, Chelsea and Arsenal – remained the same. 

FC Barcelona again claimed second place in the rankings to complete a Spanish one-two for the fourth successive year.

Commenting on the impact of UEFA’s financial fair play break-even requirement, Paul Rawnsley, a director in the Sports Business Group at Deloitte said: “Whilst the Money League covers clubs’ revenue performance, there is an increasing focus within European football on clubs achieving more sustainable levels of expenditure relative to revenues, particularly given UEFA’s financial fair play break-even requirement.

“Disciplined and responsible governance structures and financial management within European football, whilst providing the platform for investment in facilities and youth development, should only be encouraged.”