Any idea the financial bubble would burst at the top of men’s football has proven to be false thus far.

The pursuit of a European Super League was emphatically knocked back by media and fans alike, but the repercussions have been minimal.

The numbers involved when it comes to the football betting favourites for the Champions League is hard to fathom.

As reflected in the betting interest around the world, interest in the world’s top club teams shows little sign of slowing down. This is reflected in their revenue figures, which continue to rise year-on-year.

Who Is The Richest Football Club In The World?

Real Madrid have overtaken Manchester City to become the richest football club in the world. Increases in commercial and matchday revenue saw Los Blancos leapfrog City in the rich list.

They are the only two clubs with a revenue above £700 million, and it’s worth noting that PSG and Barcelona are the only other clubs within £100 million of Real Madrid over this period.

Here are the richest football clubs in 2025 by revenue from Deloitte. 

Top 20 Richest Clubs In 2025

Real Madrid garnered the most revenue over the last 12 months according to Forbes and Deloitte. Of the 30 richest clubs in the world, revenues increased by 3% since the list from 12 months ago.

While the Premier League is comfortably the richest league in the world, Manchester City are the only team to break into the top four.

There are, however, six Premier League teams in the top 10 in revenue, with a massive gap between Arsenal in 10th and Juventus in 11th.

No Serie A team breaks into the top 10. Behind the mega-spending PSG, 20th-ranked Marseille are the only other French club in the top 20.

1. Real Madrid - £714.7 million

2. Manchester City - £709.9 million

3. Paris Saint-Germain - £689.2 million

4. Barcelona - £687.6 million

5. Manchester United - £640.1 million

6. Bayern Munich - £639.5 million

7. Liverpool - £587 million

8. Tottenham Hotspur - £542.8 million

9. Chelsea - £506.3 million

10. Arsenal - £457.8 million

11. Juventus - £371.7 million

12. Borussia Dortmund - £361 million

13. AC Milan - £331.2 million

14. Internazionale - £325.7 million

15. Atletico Madrid - £313 million

16. Eintracht Frankfurt - £252.3 million

17. Newcastle United - £247.4 million

18. West Ham United - £236.5 million

19. Napoli – £230.1 million

20. Marseille - £222.1 million 

Here, we take a closer look at the 10 richest clubs in the world, based on revenue figures...

Arsenal - £457.8 million

Arsenal have held in tenth. A new deal with Fly Emirates as their shirt sponsor will reportedly see an uptick in revenue.

The Gunners are back challenging for the Premier League title and have been enjoying the riches of the Champions League.

The club’s value has leapt 15% over the last 12 months, which speaks to the remarkable financial health of English football.

Chelsea - £506.3 million

Chelsea are heading into a second consecutive season without Champions League football.

Their finances have been under the microscope since Todd Boehly took over, and there will be further scrutiny in the months to come.

Kit sponsorship agreements have been a hot topic in the Boehly era, with Infinite Athlete debuting on the front of the shirts in 2023-24.

Chelsea’s matchday revenue is lower than most of their peers – they need to start delivering on the pitch to maintain their broadcast and commercial incomings. The wait for a new stadium continues, which is keeping a firm ceiling on the Blues' revenue figures. 

Tottenham - £542.8 million

Tottenham missed out on European competition for the 2023-24 season. Harry Kane left for Bayern Munich, and the club appeared to be rebuilding.

The 2022-23 season was Spurs’ highest-ever revenue, however, and they are continuing to build on that under the stewardship of Ange Postecoglou. 

The Lilywhites have benefited greatly from their new stadium, with almost 20% of their revenue coming from matchday income.

Liverpool - £587 million

Extensions with AXA and Carlsberg have bolstered the club coffers at Anfield.

New agreements were struck with UPS, Google, and Peloton, which has seen the club generate hundreds of millions in sponsorship deals. 

This placing represents a significant drop-off from the previous figures, but Liverpool are in a very secure position financially and look well-set for the club’s next era after Jurgen Klopp’s retirement. 

Success in Arne Slot's first season has ensured the club are heading back into the Champions League, guaranteeing further revenue. 

Bayern Munich - £639.5 million

The 2022-23 season saw Bayern Munich amass the largest commercial revenue in world football. Their long-running partnership with T-Mobile was extended at approximately £40 million per year.

FC Hollywood need to excel with their partnerships because their broadcast revenue is a long way shy of their Premier League rivals.

This represents a jump of one place from 12 months previous, with the Bavarian giants overtaking Liverpool. 

Manchester United - £640.3 million

Jim Ratcliffe and INEOS’ investment in Manchester United has injected fresh optimism at Old Trafford, with the Glazers trying to sell a stake in the club for a couple of years.

Despite widespread fan unrest, the Glazers did a decent job commercially, keeping the Red Devils among the world’s most valuable sporting franchises.

United can still go toe-to-toe with the big boys financially, but the pressure will increase if they cannot return to the Champions League on a regular basis. 

Barcelona - £687.6 million

A sharp increase in total revenue was much needed for Barcelona.

The club has been through well-documented financial strife over the last few seasons, which contributed to the uncomfortable departure of Lionel Messi. 

Going forward, we will keep an eye on Barcelona’s matchday revenue, as their move to the Olympic Stadium is bound to lessen their income from ticket sales.

The revamped Camp Nou will be a massive asset in the second half of this decade, though. 

PSG - £689.2 million

Forbes only places PSG as the seventh-most valuable football team. For the third consecutive year, Les Parisiens recorded a loss.

The squad has had an overhaul with Messi, Neymar, and Kylian Mbappe all departing over the last 18 months, and it’s fair to wonder where the club is heading in the next half-decade. 

Could we see a change of ownership at the Parc des Princes in the next few years? 

Manchester City - £709.9 million

Winning the treble in 2022-23 saw Manchester City record their largest revenue ever. Continuing to set the standards on the pitch, City are also establishing themselves as a power off it. 

Their revenue is the second highest in world football, despite their matchday income being a long way off their peers.

Real Madrid - £714.7 million

A deal with HP worth tens of millions annually has bolstered Real Madrid’s commercial revenue.

Their revenue in 2022-23 was 8% higher than the previous season and saw them retain top spot on the Forbes rich list for a third year in a row.

Real are one of three clubs – along with Bayern and Manchester United – to appear in the top 10 of the Deloitte Money League on 25 occasions.

Real were number one every year from 2004-05 to 2014-15, but they have only topped the list twice since then with Manchester United, Barcelona, and Manchester City taking turns as number one.

                                        All Premier League odds are here!

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*Credit for the main photo belongs to Alamy*

Micah Lincoln Richards burst onto the scene as a teenager, quickly establishing himself as a regular starter for Manchester City and soon after receiving an England call-up.

A powerful, all-action right-back who liked to bomb forward given half a chance, he was one of only a few players who excelled both pre and post-takeover at the Etihad, going on to win the Premier League and a FA Cup.

In 2015, aged 27, Richards moved to Aston Villa but by now injuries were curtailing what was once a highly promising career. He retired four years later, a long-standing knee issue forcing his hand. 

A second career in the media beckoned for a pundit with an infectious laugh and easy demeanour and Richards’ star continues to shine bright as a regular fixture on Sky Sports, Match of the Day and covering the Champions League for CBS Sports.

Club Career

Born in Birmingham on June 24th,1988, Richards grew up a hundred miles north in Chapeltown, Leeds. 

There he was scouted at a young age by Leeds United but, failing to make the grade as a striker, he was released, transferring to Oldham Athletic’s youth academy whereupon he reinvented himself as a defender.

Impressed by what they saw, it didn’t take long for Manchester City to come calling and at City he was fast-tracked through the ranks, his blend of tough-tackling and trickery – his father ran a Brazilian Soccer School in Yorkshire – marking him out as one to watch.

It only took a handful of games with the Blues for the youngster to prove himself TV gold, swearing on live television after netting a late FA Cup equaliser against Aston Villa. A season later he was nominated for the PFA Young Player of the Year merit, losing out to Cristiano Ronaldo.

The player’s peak years in Manchester were unquestionably under the tutelage of Roberto Mancini, helping his recently minted club secure a league crown in spectacular, last-gasp fashion.

From that high-point on regrettably, Richards was on a downward curve at City, frustrated at playing second fiddle to Pablo Zabaleta.

A season-long loan spell in Italy followed, an enjoyable experience with Fiorentina but one blighted by injuries before a free transfer to Aston Villa offered up the opportunity to revive his fortunes.

Alas, despite being made captain, Richards struggled for fitness in the Midlands, a situation not helped by the Villans consistently being tipped to drop in the football betting. 

England Career

With just 28 professional appearances in the bank, Richards was handed a full international debut against the Netherlands in the winter of 2006 and with Gary Neville’s time at the top nearing its end it was felt that the City man could be his long-term successor. 

Unfortunately, twelve months later Fabio Capello stepped into the England dug-out and evidently didn’t rate the young star one bit, restricting him to just a brief singular appearance off the bench. Richards’ international career never really recovered from this.

To compensate, he took on the captaincy role as an over-aged player in the Under 21 set-up, even reaching a Euro final at that level. In the 2012 London Olympics he was again an over-aged presence, playing every game for Team GB.

Life As A Pundit

“I’m just having fun like a normal guy, down the pub, watching football with friends. People relate to that.”

That was Richards when asked by a broadsheet newspaper to summarize his punditry style and though he was clearly being self-effacing, there is also a lot of truth in what he says. 

Agreeing to do match analysis for Sky just 18 months after retiring from the game, Richard quickly found himself a big hit with the public, who responded well to his candid insights into the life of a professional footballer in addition to sparking up the unlikeliest of bromances with Roy Keane. 

Regular guest spots on A League Of Their own followed while for the BBC, his chemistry with Gary Lineker and Alan Shearer has parlayed into a successful podcast. 

Chemistry with his colleagues also explains why CBS’s Champions League coverage has been so hugely popular in recent seasons, viewers delighting in the banter between Thierry Henry, Jamie Carragher, Richards, and host Kate Abdo.

It really does feel like friends down the pub, having a laugh. 

His enthusiasm for the matches, and the most skilful players on display, coupled with tactical nous has swiftly transformed Micah Richards into one of the most well-known and well-loved pundits around.

And that, inevitably, has significantly boosted his profile and significantly boosted his bank balance. 

How Much Is Micah Richards Worth?

Richards has been admirably open about the vast fortunes he earned across his playing career and how he squandered so much of it. 

There have been all manner of hilarious admissions on the Rest Is Football podcast concerning his jet-set lifestyle, and these include hosting a party in Miami that cost the same as a two-bed semi in Chapeltown and once splurging on an expensive yellow suit just because it matched his yellow supercar. 

There was also the time he upgraded his Aston Martin when still a teenager for a top-of-the-range Ferrari to ensure he had the best car in the Manchester City parking bays. 

One particular quote of his stands out. “You’re just a kid and suddenly, you’re buying a house with a pool for £3m.”

Has he learnt to be less extravagant as he has gotten older? What’s the betting he hasn’t going off another of his candid confessions, this time to a visibly shocked Thierry Henry. 

On a recent Champions League night Richards declared that he gets three haircuts a week, each costing £200.

Breaking down his income is difficult when looking back on his playing career, as much of the information is not available for that period, but we do know that he was on £50,000 a week during his latter days at City, an amount that greatly increased on joining Villa.

This is before we factor in a bumper signing-on fee and bonuses. He will have earned plenty of cash from other endorsements, including boot deals.

Presently, Richard earns £200,000 per annum via the BBC and double that for Sky. It’s safe to assume that CBS pay him handsomely too. 

Away from the TV cameras meanwhile, there have been lucrative collaborations with WeBuyAnyCar and Optimum Nutrition and all told Micah Richards’ net worth is estimated to be north of £30m. 

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*Credit for the photo in this article belongs to Alamy*

OUR magnificent EFL Championship supplies an exhilarating pathway for promotion towards huge Premier League riches.

But there is also a hotly contested annual battle to avoid relegation to League One.

Last season was particularly exciting whereby Blackburn Rovers, Sheffield Wednesday and Plymouth Argyle all escaped the drop in a frenetic final day scramble. 

Football betting activity was immense! With rock bottom Rotherham United already doomed, the Championship subsequently said goodbye to Huddersfield Town and Birmingham City.

Odds To Finish Bottom Of The Championship:

• Oxford United - 5/1
• Plymouth Argyle - 13/2
• Millwall FC - 8/1
• Preston North End - 9/1
• Blackburn Rovers - 10/1
• Cardiff City - 10/1
• Bar - 12/1

So which clubs will go down in the upcoming 2024/25 campaign kicking off this weekend?

Here are the main candidates in my opinion alongside pointers to assist your Championship betting…

Oxford United

To finish bottom odds: 5/1

Having attained League One’s fifth place during 2023/24 some 15 points shy of automatic promotion, Oxford United surprisingly beat Bolton Wanderers 2-0 in the League One Play-Off Final at Wembley Stadium.

The U’s therefore reach English football’s second tier for the first time since 1998/99. It was so long ago that the Championship was called Division One back then! Oxford United even had spell in Non-League circles between 2006 and 2010.

I still possess vivid memories of being present for the greatest day in their history lifting the 1986 Milk (League) Cup convincingly overcoming Queens Park Rangers 3-0 in a Wembley final. 

Bringing the story up to date, head coach Des Buckingham has prepared for strenuous Championship encounters by making several experienced additions.

Poland international wide man Przemyslaw Placheta underwent a free transfer from Swansea City before Hull City goalkeeper Matt Ingram was recruited for an undisclosed fee. Then last Thursday, the acquisition was completed of West Bromwich Albion released winger Matt Phillips. 

Oxford United will definitely look to consolidate at this level whilst they push on plans to build a much-needed new stadium at the Triangle in Kidlington.    

Plymouth Argyle

To finish bottom odds: 13/2

I like Wayne Rooney’s demeanour. He has always remained extremely polite and courteous whenever I’ve asked him for radio interviews. But I believe his high profile summer appointment in becoming Plymouth’s head coach is a risky gamble. 

After dodging relegation by one point to finish 21st, Argyle installed the ex-England captain to succeed Ian Foster who was fired on 1st April in light of an unsatisfactory run of results.

Incidentally, former Sheffield United boss Paul Heckingbottom had actually been the bookies’ favourite to take charge at Home Park. 

Yet it was Rooney receiving the nod and he has brought in Pete Shuttleworth as his assistant. The pair previously operated together at Derby County, DC United in America and Birmingham City.

It is the ill-fated spell with Birmingham which concerns me. Rooney got sacked on 2nd January 2024 following just 83 days in command.

Blues were sixth in the Championship table when he originally took over on 11th October. However they drastically slipped to 20th once Rooney suffered nine defeats in a poor 15 game tenure. 

Glancing ahead to the new campaign, I am certain Plymouth’s fortunes will depend on whether or not Rooney can retain the services of star man Morgan Whittaker.

The 23 year old notched 20 goals in League and Cup throughout 2023/24 and deservedly made our EFL Championship Team of the Season. Scottish newspapers are currently reporting increasing interest involving Glasgow Rangers.

The Ibrox outfit initially had an offer of more than £7 million turned down for Whittaker although Rooney has unequivocally stated he wants to keep the player unless “a crazy bid” materialises. 

Portsmouth

To finish bottom odds: 18/1

Pompey were outstanding League One champions cavorting 10 points clear of third spot. Their old school Fratton Park stadium hasn’t graced Championship matches beyond 2011/12.

I love the striking mock Tudor façade on display there as fans approach entry turnstiles plus the loud bell-ringing typically accompanying attacking passages of play. The spirited ‘Play Up Pompey, Pompey Play Up’ chant is totally unique amongst football crowds too. 

On the pitch, winger Josh Murphy arrives from Oxford United where he most recently scored both goals to topple Bolton Wanderers 2-0 in the League One Play-Off Final.

Furthermore, Monday saw a deal penned for ex-QPR midfielder Andre Dozzell after he spent the second half of last season on loan at Birmingham City. Dozzell brings assorted versatile options because he can adequately fill the holding role as well as pushing forward in number 10 mode.

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*Credit for the photos in this article belongs to Alamy*