Are we still not famous anymore?
Today, financial and management service giant Deloitte published their Money Football League report, detailing the highest revenue grossing teams in world football. Unsurprisingly, the Premier League is a dominant force on the list of 20, accounting for half of the clubs. Despite only being into the third season back in the top flight of English football, Yorkshire’s finest have indeed been listed among the most famous footballing sides.
Premier League champions Manchester City retained their position at number one on Deloitte’s list with a staggering €731 million (£619.1m), followed by Real Madrid, Liverpool, Manchester United, PSG, Bayern Munich and Barcelona.
Leeds United ranked at number 18 of the highest grossing clubs, with an impressive 2022 revenue of €223.4 million (£189.2m), an increase of 17% of 2021’s figure. As noted by the Yorkshire Evening Post, this is the first time in 20 years that the club has made the top 20 of Deloitte’s Money Football League.
While the sale of key players such as Raphinha and Kalvin Phillips in the summer of 2022 would have been contributing factors to Leeds’ position, its a noteworthy place for the club to earn without any European football. Leeds position also highlights the obvious, that being the importance of Premier League football to the club’s growth.
Deloitte’s report specifies that match-day revenue saw a dramatic increase with fans and spectators retuning to stadiums after the Covid-19 pandemic. Increased revenue from broadcasting rights again played an important role for teams, particularly in the Premier League.
Recent reports at Elland Road have indicated that a full-takeover of Leeds is on the horizon, with owner Andrea Radrizzani likely to sell to minority shareholders the San Francisco 49ers. It is believed that the NFL franchise were a driving force in financing the transfer of 20 year old striker Georginio Rutter from Hoffenheim early this month.
Our solidity as a top flight side in unquestionably a primary factor in the likelihood of a takeover being as lucrative as it could potentially be, and with the 49ers getting behind high transfer fees as a minority shareholder, it highlights how important securing our Premier League status next season is to investors and suitors.
In an ideal world, we’ll maintain Premier League status and make a genuine push for European football in the coming seasons, reaffirming Leeds United as one of world football’s household names. We shall see as the season progresses.
Vital Leeds will keep you up to date with any news like this or developments around the pending takeover of Leeds United, so be sure to follow us on Twitter with the handle @VitalLeeds