Research by Football Benchmark and World Football Summit reveals that revenues for top-tier clubs have grown from €11.6bn to €28.6bn over 15 years, with the Premier League’s share increasing.
The combined revenue of the 700 clubs in Europe’s top divisions rose from €11.6bn ($12.9bn) in 2008–09 to €28.6bn in 2023–24 – an increase of 146% – according to a report by Football Benchmark and World Football Summit (WFS). Both organisations estimate that revenues surpassed the €30bn mark in 2024–25.
The report covers club revenue and valuation data spanning 15 and 10 seasons, respectively. It shows that the market has grown at an average annual rate of 6.2% since 2008–09 – a figure lower than the 7.1% annual growth recorded in the decade leading up to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Revenues fell by 10% in 2019–20, before returning to previous levels by 2021–22.
Premier League expands its share
The Premier League is the only league to have increased its share of total European club revenue, rising from 21% in 2008–09 to 26% in 2023–24.
The combined share of La Liga, the Bundesliga, the Serie A, and the Ligue 1 fell from 48% to 46% during the same period. For clubs outside the ‘big five’ leagues, the share decreased from 31% to 28%. In absolute terms, however, both groups still saw their revenues more than double.
Alongside Premier League growth, revenue has become more concentrated among the largest clubs across Europe. The ten clubs with the highest revenues, including those in the Premier League, saw their combined earnings more than triple (by a factor of 3.1) between 2008-09 and 2024-25: from €2.7bn to €8.37bn.
During that period, the number of clubs with an annual revenue exceeding €300m rose from three to 17, while the number of clubs with revenue over €200m increased from eight to 33.
In the 2023-24 season, Real Madrid became the first club to record revenue exceeding €1bn. FC Barcelona reached that same threshold in 2025-26.
The national composition of the top ten has also evolved. In 2008-09, the Premier League was represented by four clubs and now has six, while France has gone from zero to one club. In 2008-09, Italy had three clubs in the top ten – Juventus, Internazionale (Inter Milan), and AC Milan – but now has none. Spain retains two clubs.
The ‘big five’ leagues, which includes the Premier League, accounted for 72% of the total revenue of European clubs in 2023-24, also dominated the Champions League. Between 2014–15 and 2025–26, all finalists and 47 out of 48 semi-finalists came from these leagues.
During that period, clubs from La Liga won six of the 12 titles – five of which were secured by Real Madrid – and reached the semi-finals 15 times, more than clubs from any other league.
Commercial revenue surpasses broadcast income
The composition of revenue at the top level of football has shifted over the same period. In 2024-25, commercial revenue accounted for 49% of the total income for the ten clubs with the highest turnover, an increase from 32% in 2008–09.
Meanwhile, revenue from broadcasting rights – including distributions from UEFA – fell from 42% to 32% of the total over the same timeframe.
Looking at all 700 clubs, commercial revenue only surpassed income from broadcasting rights and UEFA payments in 2022–23 – roughly a decade after the top clubs had reached this milestone.
Nevertheless, commercial revenue has been the fastest-growing income source over the past decade, increasing by 7% annually. According to the report, broadcasting rights remain crucial to club finances, particularly for small and medium-sized clubs.
Club valuations nearly triple
The combined value of the 32 most valuable clubs in Europe rose from €26.3bn in 2016 to a record €72.6bn in 2026. These valuations have grown at a faster rate than revenue. The total figure has reached 1.8 times its pre-pandemic level (€39.7bn in 2020), while revenues have risen by approximately 30% since 2018–2019.
The report attributes this increase to higher revenues and a rise in the value of player squads, as well as growing investor confidence in football as an asset class.
According to the report, investors are increasingly evaluating clubs based on their ability to generate stable long-term revenue and the diversity of their income streams.
The composition of the top ten most valuable clubs has remained largely unchanged; between 2016 and 2026, only 11 different clubs have featured in this group. Over the past decade, the growth in valuation within this group has ranged from 75% for Manchester United to 437% for Paris Saint-Germain.
Real Madrid is the most valuable club in Europe, with a value of over €7.7bn as of January 1, 2026 – an increase of 166% over a ten-year period.
