Nags to riches: Man United top money list
United, which is at the centre of takeover speculation by Irish investors JP McManus and John Magnier and US billionaire Malcolm Glazer, has held on to the top spot for the past seven years and has extended its lead over other clubs.
The Deloitte Football Rich List for 2003 is dominated by English and Italian clubs who account for 12 of the top 20 spots.
Behind United are the Italian giants Juventus and AC Milan, whose positions are supported by the largest broadcasting incomes in world football and their appearance in the 2003 Champions League final.
Deloitte said while the Spanish giants, Real Madrid, may have a reputation as the world’s number one glamour club, they hold fourth position in the finance league.
Interestingly Leeds United, which is on the verge of going into administration with €120m in debts, is in the top 20, showing the club could turn into a viable business.
While there were fears that many clubs would collapse due to a reduction in the value of television rights deals, it proved just the opposite.
Dan Jones of Deloitte sports group said: “The top clubs in the world’s number one sport are generating more income than ever before. Broadcast income is the largest single source for most of the clubs and despite widespread speculation of a collapse in media values, we think this is unlikely.”
He added many clubs have an “underused opportunity to significantly develop other income, particularly from their stadia”.
But Deloitte is warning clubs to get costs under control or risk going out of business.
“It’s a paradox that the top 20 includes a couple of clubs that are having some financial difficulty - but their income is amongst the highest in the world, so the source of any financial difficulty doesn’t lie with the revenues they earn,” Mr Jones said.
Compared to US sports businesses Manchester United remains the largest, €7m ahead of the New York Yankees.
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