Football is unarguably the hardest sports in the world— and the unparalleled audiences and viewership also make it the sport with the most money. Be it signing fees, player wages, betting markets, or prize money, the amount of money in this sport is simply astonishing.
Naturally, the division of this money is far from equal, and only several clubs dominate most of football’s riches. While many footballers believe that this shouldn’t be the case, others feel that clubs that generate the most fans deserve to get the biggest pieces of the pie.
In this blog post, we will be discussing some of the richest football clubs in the world.
Let’s start by revealing the 50 richest football clubs across the globe as of 2021:
| Rank | Club Name | Country | Net Worth (US$) |
| 50 | CF Monterrey | Mexico | $77 million |
| 49 | Stoke City FC | England | $90 million |
| 48 | Bournemouth FC | England | $110 million |
| 47 | New York Red Bulls FC | USA | $114 million |
| 46 | Spartak Moscow | Russia | $115 million |
| 45 | Shakhtar Donetsk FC | Ukraine | $158 million |
| 44 | Colorado Rapid FC | USA | $190 million |
| 43 | Zenit St Petersburg | Russia | $200 million |
| 42 | Napoli FC | Italy | $216 million |
| 41 | Lyon FC | France | $233 million |
| 40 | San Jose Earthquakes | USA | $235 million |
| 39 | New England Revolution | USA | $245 million |
| 38 | Fulham | England | $248 million |
| 37 | Athletic Bilbao | Spain | $261 million |
| 36 | Southampton FC | England | $265 million |
| 35 | Sporting Kansas City | USA | $266 million |
| 34 | New York City FC | USA | $273 million |
| 33 | Marseille FC | France | $285 million |
| 32 | Crystal Palace | England | $300 million |
| 31 | Ajax | The Netherlands | $310 million |
| 30 | Sevilla | Spain | $316 million |
| 29 | Schalke 04 | Germany | $345 million |
| 28 | Monaco FC | France | $347 million |
| 27 | Newcastle United | England | $381 million |
| 26 | Borussia Dortmund | Germany | $395 million |
| 25 | Toronto FC | Canada | $395 million |
| 24 | Seattle Sounders | USA | $405 million |
| 23 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | England | $421 million |
| 22 | Lazio | Italy | $431 million |
| 21 | LA Galaxy | USA | $480 million |
| 20 | Valencia | Spain | $482 million |
| 19 | Leicester City | England | $500 million |
| 18 | Atlanta United | USA | $500 million |
| 17 | West Ham United | England | $508 million |
| 16 | AS Roma | Italy | $548 million |
| 15 | AC Milan | Italy | $559 million |
| 14 | Everton | England | $658 million |
| 13 | Inter Milan | Italy | $743 million |
| 12 | Atletico de Madrid | Spain | $1 billion |
| 11 | Juventus FC | Italy | $1.95 billion |
| 10 | Tottenham Hotspurs | England | $2.3 billion |
| 9 | Paris Saint-Germain | France | $2.5 billion |
| 8 | Arsenal | England | $2.8 billion |
| 7 | Chelsea | England | $3.2 billion |
| 6 | Manchester City | England | $4 billion |
| 5 | Liverpool | England | $4.1 billion |
| 4 | Manchester United | England | $4.2 billion |
| 3 | Bayern Munich | Germany | $4.22 billion |
| 2 | Real Madrid | Spain | $4.75 billion |
| 1 | Barcelona | Spain | $4.76 billion |
As expected, countries like Italy, Spain, the USA, France, and England dominate the list of the top 50 football clubs in the world. The four European clubs belong to the so-called “Top 5” leagues in world football, while the USA, naturally, has a large audience of its own.
In addition, Major League Soccer (the USA’s football league) has attracted quite a bit of international attention over the last decade or so. This is primarily due to the signings of globally recognized stars such as David Beckham, Steven Gerrard, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, and several others.
About the top 50 clubs on the list, it’s unsurprising that Real Madrid and Barcelona occupy the top two spots— after all, they are the two clubs with the biggest global fan bases.
Another aspect of that list that stands out is that English clubs dominate it. In other words, the richest football clubs in England are also some of the richest football clubs in the whole world. Once again, this shouldn’t surprise any football fan since the English Premier League is the most-watched league worldwide, which means vast TV money for the clubs belonging to this league.
This section will cast a deeper look into the financial details of the top 10 richest football clubs in 2021:
| Rank | Club Name | Owner/Controlling Shareholder | Value (US$) | Two-year Change | Revenue | Operating Income |
| 10 | Tottenham Hotspur | ENIC Group | $2.3 billion | 42% | $494 million | $134 million |
| 9 | Paris Saint- Germain | Qatar Sports Investments | $2.5 billion | 129% | $599 million | -$5 million |
| 8 | Arsenal | Stanley Kroenke | $2.8 billion | 23% | $430 million | $47 million |
| 7 | Chelsea | Roman Abramovich | $3.2 billion | 24% | $520 million | $35 million |
| 6 | Manchester City | Sheikh Mansoue Bin Zayed Al- Nahyan | $4 billion | 49% | $609 million | -$2 million |
| 5 | Liverpool | Fenway Sports Group | $4.1 billion | 88% | $619 million | $62 million |
| 4 | Manchester United | The Glazer Family | $4.2 billion | 10% | $643 million | $167 million |
| 3 | Bayern Munich | Herbert Hainer | $4.22 billion | 39% | $703 million | $49 million |
| 2 | Real Madrid | Florentino Perez Rodriguez | $4.75 billion | 12% | $792 million | $92 million |
| 1 | Barcelona | The club members | $4.76 billion | 18% | $792 million | $62 million |
Shirt sponsorship deals make up a large portion of a football club’s revenue; hence, they are an essential aspect of the sport. So, which are the biggest shirt sponsorship deals in world football?
Let’s find out:
| Rank | Club | Sponsor | Deal Value (US$) | Contract Period |
| 10 | Juventus | Jeep | $159 million | 2020–21 to 2022–23 |
| 9 | Chelsea | Three | $166 million | 2021–22 to 2023–24 |
| 8 | Paris Saint- Germain | Accor | $171 million | 2019–20 to 2021–22 |
| 7 | Liverpool | Standard Chartered | $221 million | 2021–20 to 2022–23 |
| 6 | Arsenal | Emirates | $280 million | 2019–20 to 2023–24 |
| 5 | Bayern Munich | T-Mobile (Deutsche Telecom) | $283 million | 2015–16 to 2022–23 |
| 4 | Barcelona | Rakuten | $342 million | 2017–18 to 2021–22 |
| 3 | Manchester United | TeamViewer | $325 million | 2021–22 to 2025–26 |
| 2 | Tottenham | AIA | $400 million | 2019–20 to 2026–27 |
| 1 | Real Madrid | Emirates | $413 million | 2017–18 to 2021–22 |
Apart from being immensely effective at their on-field jobs, the best football players in the world are also highly marketable. As a result, these players often earn massive amounts of money to supplement their already enormous wages.
So, which players currently have the best boot deals? Let’s find out.
Player: Mohamed Salah
Club: Liverpool
Sponsor: Adidas
Deal value: $3.4 million
Mohamed Salah (also known as the “Egyptian King” by the Liverpool fans) is a speedy and skillful football player. Additionally, he is also very marketable due to his popularity.
Therefore, unsurprisingly, Salah is sponsored by Adidas and is paid a comfortable yearly sum of $3.4 million in return for wearing the company’s X18 football boots.
Player: Marco Verratti
Club: Paris Saint-Germain
Sponsor: Nike
Deal value: $3.4 million
Although it might be a surprising entry, the ninth player on our list is Marco Verratti. The PSG midfielder makes a substantial yearly sum of $3.4 million thanks to his Nike sponsorship deal.
We mentioned Verratti was a surprising addition to the top 10 because it doesn’t seem like he is as marketable as many of the other players on this list.
Until 2017, Puma sponsored Verratti, but he left for Nike and signed a decade-long deal with the sports giant.
Player: Paul Pogba
Club: Manchester United
Sponsor: Adidas
Deal value: $4.1 million
Few players divide opinion like the French midfielder star, but Adidas certainly seems to be on the side that believes Pogba is one of the very best out there— at least as far as marketability goes.
The brand pays Pogba a whopping $4.1 million a year to wear their Predator football boots.
In addition, Pogba signed a 10-year deal with Adidas in 2014, which means that by the time that the contract expires in three years, the United midfielder would have made a hefty $41 million.
Player: Antoine Griezmann
Club: Barcelona
Sponsor: Puma
Deal value: $4.8 million
Puma signed Griezmann in 2015, and it was an exceptionally smart decision by the brand.
The following year Griezmann became the best player at the UEFA Euro 2016 with his then-club Atletico Madrid; he then won the FIFA World Cup with France in 2018, and finally, he secured his big-money Barcelona move in 2019.
Last year, Puma released the limited edition version of Future 4.1 NETFIT Grizi (costing a hefty $314 ) to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the partnership between the company and the football star.
Player: Gareth Bale
Club: Tottenham
Sponsor: Adidas
Deal value: $5.5 million
Back at Tottenham, after spending a season on loan at Real Madrid, the Welshman earns an approximate $825,000 per week.
If that wasn’t enough, his sponsorship deal with Adidas gets him an extra $5.5 million per year to wear their football boots.
With Carlo Ancelloti— the man who was able to get the best out of Gareth Bale— back as the Real Madrid coach, Adidas can expect Bale back at his best once again.
Player: Mario Balotelli
Club: Brescia
Sponsor: Puma
Deal value: $6.8 million
While signing Griezmann was a wise decision from Puma, signing Balotelli wasn’t— though it certainly seemed so when the deal was signed back in 2014.
Balotelli was only 23 years old at the time and still one of the most in-demand players in the football world. In addition, he had secured a big-money move to Liverpool. Thus, Puma thought it was a smart move on their behalf.
Unfortunately, his Liverpool transfer didn’t work out, and the same can be said for pretty much every transfer he has had since (apart from one explosive season at OGC Nice).
Currently, he represents the Serie B side Brescia and has three more years on his Puma sponsorship deal.
Player: Kylian Mbappe
Club: Paris Saint-Germain
Sponsor: Nike
Deal value: $19.2 million
Number four on our list is the French forward, Kylian Mbappe, regarded by many as the best young player in the world.
He has signed a sponsorship deal with Nike that earns him close to $20 million every year— that is a stark leap from the $6.8 million that we had with Mario Balotelli on the fifth spot. The 10-year contract with Nike will earn the PSG star around $192 million in total.
Player: Cristiano Ronaldo
Club: Juventus
Sponsor: Nike
Deal value: $20.6 million
Although Kylian Mbappe has come pretty close, Cristiano Ronaldo remains the leading earner for Nike.
The Juventus player has signed a lifetime deal (52 years) with the company, making him only the third sportsperson with this deal, after LeBron James and Michael Jordan. So, all in all, Cristiano Ronaldo will be pocketing a sum of $1,072 million throughout the deal.
Player: Lionel Messi
Club: Barcelona
Sponsor: Adidas
Deal value: $24.7 million
Considered by many as the greatest footballer to have ever set foot on the field, Lionel Messi has a lifetime deal in place with Adidas.
This legendary Argentine, who has bagged the Ballon d’Or on six separate occasions (the most by any player in history), released the Adidas Messi, a sub-brand of the boot, making him the only footballer so far to have done so.
Player: Neymar Jr.
Club: Paris Saint-Germain
Sponsor: Puma
Deal value: $31.6 million
Neymar left Nike to sign a $31.6 million deal with Puma, giving him the number one spot on our list.
In fact, Neymar’s contract with Puma is the largest when it comes to individual sport sponsorship contracts ever.
Now close to 30 years old, Puma is perhaps still hoping that there will be enough time for Neymar to hit the pinnacle of the football world before he hangs up his (very expensive) boots, or to at least after Messi and Ronaldo step down.
Overall, this comprehensive blog revealed the astonishing numbers involved in football and how much money the richest football clubs actually make.
Although Spain currently holds the two top spots, England dominates the list of richest football clubs in the world, hosting six of the top 10 clubs on the list. However, this list can quickly change depending on the move of players and sponsorship deals involved. Regardless, we learned football is a sport that relies on a lot of money to thrive.
Currently, Barcelona is the richest club on the planet, much like it has been for the last couple of years. Real Madrid occupies second place, but, owing to the club’s financial struggles and mismanagement, it won’t be surprising to see the club falling down a spot or two during the next few years.
Real Madrid is at the helm in shirt sponsorship deals, having signed a $413 million contract with Emirates, due to end after this season. Emirates, of course, remains the most significant football shirt sponsor, being the only sponsor to feature twice on the list of top 10 football shirt sponsorship deals.
The association of brands and football is very reliant on the player sponsorship deals. In the top 10 list above, we showed Adidas was the king of football player sponsors, securing contracts with four of the top 10 most prominent players featured.
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