Arsenal, Chelsea, Tottenham and West Ham make London home to more big clubs than all of Spain or Germany
London’s claim to being football’s leading city has been lent further weight after four its clubs – more than in all of Spain or Germany – ranked among the 20 richest in the world.
Arsenal, Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham United all feature in Deloitte’s Football Money League, which is published today and orders teams by revenue.
That gives the capital as many entries as Italy’s Serie A, and more than La Liga and the Bundesliga, who boast three teams apiece. England has eight in total, including the No1 team in Manchester United.
Read more: Man Utd overtake Real Madrid to become world's richest club
Arsenal remained the highest-ranked London team in the rich list in seventh place after their income for the 2015-16 season increased eight per cent to €468.5m (£350.4m).
The Gunners could even surpass sixth-placed Paris Saint-Germain in the next two seasons, particularly if the French club’s domestic struggles saw them miss out on the Champions League, say the report’s authors.
“Arsenal are chasing Paris Saint-Germain quite hard, and if they [PSG] had a season out of the Champions League they’d have a good chance of going past them,” Deloitte’s Dan Jones told City A.M.
[custom id="191"]
Chelsea were non-movers in the list at eight after revenues grew seven per cent to €447.4m (£334.6m) despite a difficult season in which they finished 10th in the Premier League.
Their immediate prospects of climbing the list will be hindered by their absence from European competition this season, but in the longer term they can expect a boost from building a new stadium.
Tottenham, who remain 12th on revenue of €279.7m (£209.2m), are also set to gain when they move into their new £400m home, which they hope to complete in 2018.
“You’d expect it to be a significant revenue boost,” added Jones, who said both would hope to match Arsenal’s £100m-a-year matchday revenue. Chelsea’s current figure is £70m and Spurs’ is £41m.
[custom id="193"]
West Ham, who left Upton Park for the London Stadium last summer, entered the Football Money League in 18th place after their strong footballing performance drove revenue up almost 20 per cent to €192.3m (£143.8m)