Man U out of top earning European clubs for first time despite record revenue

The money made by Real Madrid, Barcelona and Bayern Munich has reportedly eclipsed Manchester United's record revenue of 363.2 million pounds, sending the Old Trafford side out of the top three earning European clubs for the first time ever.

United's eight-year reign as the most lucrative in the world game was ended by Real, which is on the top of the pile with 444.7 million pounds, nine years ago, and was overtaken in recent years by Barcelona, which comes in second with a revenue of 413.6 million pounds.

According to the Mirror, despite an increase in revenue in the last financial year, United has dropped behind European champions Bayern Munich, which has 369.6 million pounds revenue, in the latest Football Money League list compiled by business advisory specialists Deloitte.

However, Deloitte's Paul Rawnsley said that it is just a one-off for United because of Bayern's phenomenal success last season, adding that the defending Premier League champions will probably be back in the top three next year given their new big commercial deals, multiple sponsorships and an impressive match-day revenue.

Rawnsley predicted that the next set of figures in 12 months' time will demonstrate - despite the 'unprecedented' revenue growth of fifth-placed Paris Saint-Germain (341.8 million pounds) - the financial power of English football.

Manchester City, whose income reached 271 million pounds, leaped above Chelsea (260 million pounds) and Arsenal (243.6 million pounds) into the top six for the first time, while 12th-placed Liverpool (206.2 million pounds) and 14th-placed Tottenham Hotspur (147.4 million pounds) are also in the leading 20 clubs, the report added.