ARSENAL have leapfrogged Liverpool and London rivals Spurs and Chelsea in the latest football earnings table.
The Gunners had dropped to 10th in the global revenue charts after five years outside the European elite.
But their return to the Champions League last season, and another Prem near-miss, saw the Emirates outfit gross £605.5m to move up to seventh in a table headed by Real Madrid.
The Spanish giants became the first club in Uefa football history to bank more than £1b Euros in 2023-24, with the Bernabeu side, who won a 15th European crown, earning £883.7m after the refurbishment of their home ground.
While Manchester City remained second in the table, with revenues of £708.1m, the gap between them and Madrid has leaped from just £5m in 2022-23 to £175m, last season.
Across Manchester, United moved up from fifth to fourth, overtaking Barcelona, who dropped two places, even though their revenues rose by less than £3m, from £648.5m to £651.4m.
But it was Arsenal who made the biggest advance – as Spurs’ lack of any European football saw them drop from eighth to ninth, according to the latest Deloitte Football Money League figures.
Tottenham had seen record income of £549.2m in 2022-23, when they reached the last 16 of the Champions League but missed out on European qualification.
That saw their 2023-24 income cut to £519.9, a £30m reduction.
Arsenal, eliminated by Bayern Munich in the last eight, earned £258.2m from broadcasters, plus £129.7m in match-day income and £217.9m from their commercial deals.
Liverpool, seventh last year with £793.8m, drop a place after earning £604.2m, with Chelsea also down a place on £461.2m, down £51.3m.
It is the first time the Gunners have grossed more than Liverpool and Chelsea since the 2016-17 season.
The Deloitte figures confirm the Prem’s financial muscle with Newcastle, West Ham and Aston Villa all in the top 20 earners.
While that is nine Prem teams, Spain, France and Italy have three representatives, with Munich and Dortmund the Bundesliga money sides.
Prem income is set to rise by up to 20 per cent next term with the new international broadcast deals, while TV contracts across the rest of the Big Five are in decline.
Deloitte’s Tim Bridge said: “On-pitch performance is critical for teams to reach the top echelons of the rankings, although high performing clubs are also able to diversify the way they generate revenue through unlocking innovative partnerships and developing the land and stadium space that they own or operate.
“While commercial revenue dominates the income of the top ten Money League clubs, broadcast income remains crucial for teams in the second half of the rankings.
“As competitions expand and create more broadcast and matchday opportunities, these can further increase the earning potential for clubs.
“At a time where there is more demand than ever for a greater number of matchdays, this must be balanced with player welfare, as they ultimately bring the on-field success that can earn clubs many further rewards off-field.”
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