Expert reveals why Man United's fall down football's Money League could be a huge blow to their fans - and how rivals Liverpool leapfrogged them

Manchester United are getting left behind.

The club fell to its lowest ever position on the Deloitte Money League as they dropped to eighth in the renowned rankings for the richest clubs in the world.

Even through the club boasted record revenues last year of almost £666million, their dismal on-field showings have left them get overtaken by their rivals.

The Red Devils have never been out of the top five in Deloitte’s rankings since they began in the mid-90s and have topped it 10 times, most recently in 2017. Now that giant of world football sits more than £300m behind leaders Real Madrid who boasted revenues of £1.01bn.

United still recorded the highest matchday revenues in the Premier League despite recording their worst domestic season since 1974, when the side was relegated, but dropped largely due to their broadcast income dropping by nearly £45m due to their absence from the Champions League .

What is worse for Jim Ratcliffe and INEOS’s ownership is that it appears United’s position will only plunge lower.

Things look no brighter this season for Sir Jim Ratcliffe and the Man United hierarchy after the club received a disappointing Football Money League ranking

After exiting the FA Cup to Brighton at the start of the month, the Red Devils will have one of their shortest seasons of the Premier League era this term

‘Each place in the Premier League is worth £3.5m so a 15th place final position hit the club hard,’ football finance expert Kieran Maguire told Daily Mail Sport.

‘On the plus side matchday revenues were the highest in the Premier League as the price rises brought in by INEOS and the additional matches on the group stage of the Europa League increased this revenue stream by €39m. Strong commercial growth helped offset lower broadcast income.

‘Expect United to potentially fall further in the table in 2025-26 due to the fewest number of games taking place at a still sold-out Old Trafford each match, alongside zero UEFA monies and a £10m penalty from sponsors Adidas for not qualifying for the Champions League.’

United’s exit in the early rounds of both the League and FA Cup combined with no European football means that United will play just 40 matches this season, their fewest in 111 years.

‘This matters in that they will probably raise prices further,’ added Maguire.

Manchester United Supporters Trust described it as a ‘kick in the teeth’ when the club raised ticket prices following their worst domestic season since 1974 when the side was relegated and faced further fury in September when Ratcliffe hiked the ticket prices for an academy fixture.

United dropping even further down the money table will also raise further concerns over future job losses. Ratcliffe made about 250 staff redundant in 2024 with a further 200 announced last year as well as cutting salaries to club ambassadors like Sir Alex Ferguson and closing the paid-for staff canteen.

For the first time in the Deloitte report’s 29-year history, no English side made the top four as Liverpool led the way in fifth.

Liverpool claimed the top Premier League spot with their fifth-place ranking behind clubs like Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain

Liverpool leaped from eighth in 2023-24, the position now occupied by United, up to fifth after recording revenues of around £730m.

For the third season in a row it was commercial revenue – not the mega billion-pound broadcast deals – that accounted for the biggest income stream among the biggest clubs at a combined £4.5bn.

Tim Bridge, the lead partner in the Deloitte Sports Business Group, also pointed to the presence of ‘on-site breweries, hotels and restaurants’ as a reason for the commercial boom of the biggest sides.

Liverpool, who recorded the highest wage bill in the Premier League of £437m, were no different. Not only was their unbridled success on the pitch key in Arne Slot’s side romping to a second Premier League title but also thanks to the extra cash from staging Taylor Swift, Bruce Springsteen and Dua Lipa concerts.

‘Liverpool have become champions both on and off the pitch as they benefitted from modest progress in Champions League which is critical as generates 3.5x as much prize money as the Europa League and 7x that of the Conference League,’ said Maguire.

‘In addition you can sell the hospitality boxes for premium rates when it’s PSG and Real Madrid at Anfield compared to the second-best team in Albania.

‘The new deal with Adidas helped boost merchandise sales as Liverpool opened up megastores around the world.

‘Throw in a bit of Taylor Swift at the stadium meant additional revenues and no Cruel Summer for the Reds.’

Anfield became one of the hottest venues of the summer with appearances from Dua Lipa and Taylor Swift

One of the biggest surges up the table for English clubs was Aston Villa, who jumped above AC Milan, Juventus and Saudi-owned Newcastle into 14th with a revenue of more than £390m – a boost of 45 per cent.

The run to the last eight of the Champions League helped the club bank more than £70m in prize money, a huge jump from the semi-finals of the Conference League the season before.

New sponsorship deals with Adidas and Betano also helped their commercial income nearly double to more than £70m.

The club’s turnover-to-wages ratio also dropped from 96 per cent to just over 70 per cent.

All of this will be crucial for a side that has been left penny-pinching in previous transfer windows to try to stay in line with financial rules. But they are not out of the woods yet. Missing out on the Champions League this season will see that broadcast revenue drop next year.

‘Legacy losses (the club lost nearly £120m in 2022-23 and £86m in 2023-24) means that Villa still have to be careful in 2025-26 as they’ve been already given a £9.5m UEFA fine for a PSR breach and could have a bigger one if they fail to adhere to the business plan they were asked to follow.

‘The £100m sale of Jack Grealish fell out of their three-year cycle for PSR last season, which didn’t help either.

‘This explains why they’ve been losing out on player recruitment as can only loan rather than buy some of their targets.’

After a challenging period of penny-pinching in an attempt to stay within the rules, Aston Villa's fortunes are much healthier

It was a poor result for the other side of Manchester too as City plummeted from top in 2023, second last year, down to sixth after the brought in revenues of £723m, a one percent drop on their previous figure. But, unlike United, the future looks bright.

City’s matchday revenue was just £78m, far below that of United (£166m), Arsenal (£159m) and  Liverpool (£130m) but that figure will rise when they open the new North Stand.

‘An early exit from the Champions League was offset by participation in FIFA’s derided but lucrative Club World Cup, which will also contribute to their 2025-26 figures as it straddled City’s 30 June year end,’ said Maguire.

‘A new deal with Puma worth £1bn over ten years will also help City going forwards.

‘City have noticeably lower revenues from matchday due to having a lower proportion of tourist fans who are willing to pay high ticket prices, than some of their peers. This meant that matchday revenue was below €100m but may rise if make Champions League progress and the capacity increase next season with opening of their extended stand.’

While there were no Premier League teams in the top four, English top-flight sides still made up half of the biggest 30 clubs.

Six sides made up the top 10 with Arsenal (7th), Tottenham (9th) and Chelsea 10th joining Liverpool, United and City.

‘Arsenal finished above Manchester United for the first time in many years,’ said Maguire. ‘A semi-final place in the Champions League helped drive broadcasting prize money from UEFA along with second place finish in the Premier League.

‘Commercial income continues to drive upwards as Arsenal’s relative success, albeit without winning trophies, has made them the pre-eminent London club financially and attractive to sponsors.

‘Spurs managed a nine percent increase in revenue despite a poor Premier League season. Winning the Europa League has given them a back door into the Champions League which will boost coffers considerably.

‘The agreement with Haringey Council that the club can host 30 non-football events a season means the new stadium is truly multi-sport and multi-function, as was intended, and a big contribution to revenue growth.’

Newcastle (17th) and West Ham (20th) remained in the top 20, despite both dropping in position while the position of Brighton (22nd), Crystal Palace (24th) and Bournemouth (25th) showed just how much powerful the draw of the Premier League remains.

Wolves moved up even though they’re going down and even Brentford’s revenue of £180m put them 28th, a place above Flamengo, the biggest club in Brazil.

‘That shows the strength in depth of the Premier League,’ added Maguire. ‘It means that Brentford playing in a 20,000 stadium generate more income than any club in North, Central or South America on the back of the Premier League’s television deals.

‘It also means that the Premier League is more competitive as its members have bigger budgets that all but the elite of Europe, allowing a smaller club such as Crystal Palace to win the FA Cup.’