Top 5 biggest Football clubs in the world.

manutddjw said:
I’m genuinely curious about Bayern being on nearly everyone’s list. Great club no doubt, that is known worldwide by football fans but I don’t see them being supported on a large global scale the way Real Madrid, Barcelona and United are.

I live in Canada, where it’s a huge melting pot and we have access to almost all the big European leagues on tv. I’ve rarely ran into people who actively support Bayern and watch their games or even watch the Bundesliga. I can honestly say I know more Celtic fans than I do Bayern fans. Arsenal, Liverpool and Chelsea are easily more followed than Bayern by a wide margin here.
Click to expand...
Bayern was ranked as having the 6th revenue of all football clubs globally in the 2022/23 season by statista.com (newest available data I found).

Behind Real, Manchester City, PSG, Barcelona and just 1.5m short of Manchester United. We know that City and PSG have inflated numbers due to their sportswashing ownership, so we can ignore them for now I think. That makes Bayern 4th highest "true" football club in revenue. If we now consider that the PL has a much better TV income than the Bundesliga we see that Bayern has about 60m more revenue than United based on international success (CL price money), sponsoring and merchandise, despite having lower match day revenue due to lower ticket prices in Germany.

Those numbers surprised me myself a bit, but based on those numbers it's hard to argue United above Bayern in that sense. I guess United should have a much bigger global following than Bayern, but somehow that doesn't end up in United making more money. So maybe it's a case of more people knowing and liking United than Bayern, but that the "core" of fans who are willing to spend money on their club is similar? I genuinely don't know, as I didn't expect the numbers to be this way :lol:
 
stefan92 said:
Bayern was ranked as having the 6th revenue of all football clubs globally in the 2022/23 season by statista.com (newest available data I found).

Behind Real, Manchester City, PSG, Barcelona and just 1.5m short of Manchester United. We know that City and PSG have inflated numbers due to their sportswashing ownership, so we can ignore them for now I think. That makes Bayern 4th highest "true" football club in revenue. If we now consider that the PL has a much better TV income than the Bundesliga we see that Bayern has about 60m more revenue than United based on international success (CL price money), sponsoring and merchandise, despite having lower match day revenue due to lower ticket prices in Germany.

Those numbers surprised me myself a bit, but based on those numbers it's hard to argue United above Bayern in that sense. I guess United should have a much bigger global following than Bayern, but somehow that doesn't end up in United making more money. So maybe it's a case of more people knowing and liking United than Bayern, but that the "core" of fans who are willing to spend money on their club is similar? I genuinely don't know, as I didn't expect the numbers to be this way :lol:
Click to expand...
Bayern always* had the biggest commercial revenue of all clubs.

* for the last decade or so
 
Bayern are not a bigger club than Man United. Not in a million fecking years. Nobody gives a feck about Bayern Munich outside football fans in Europe. Goes to Asia and Africa and I've sure they arent wearing "Muller 25" on their shirts. People need to get out of this daft bubble that success of the pitch is what makes sport so romantic. Its not. Its a part of it. But you I can guarantee there's nobody on that list who remains in the top earners, top attendance, top fanbase etc. if they had the 10 years we've had. It goes to show how massive Manchester United is that we've been dog shit for the longest time, and we're still as attractive to the public across the globe than ever.
 
mav_9me said:
I'd be more interested in non united fans answers on this. Curious to see where they see United
Click to expand...
Tbh i dont think that many will put you in the top 5 but just one step behind

1. Real
2. Bayern (yeah may be a bit biased but i think the last 15 years and our national run put us slightly ahead Milan and Liverpool for the moment)
3. Milan
4. Liverpool
5. Barca
6.-9. in no order: Ajax, United, Juve, Inter
 
FujiVice said:
Bayern are not a bigger club than Man United. Not in a million fecking years. Nobody gives a feck about Bayern Munich outside football fans in Europe. Goes to Asia and Africa and I've sure they arent wearing "Muller 25" on their shirts. People need to get out of this daft bubble that success of the pitch is what makes sport so romantic. Its not. Its a part of it. But you I can guarantee there's nobody on that list who remains in the top earners, top attendance, top fanbase etc. if they had the 10 years we've had. It goes to show how massive Manchester United is that we've been dog shit for the longest time, and we're still as attractive to the public across the globe than ever.
Click to expand...
The biggest reason there are more United shirts in asia is the popularity of the PL and the easy accesibility of the english language.
If you go by the number of shirts in asia and africa Arsenal and Tottenham are a bigger club than Barca.

I guess we all fans are a bit biased but Bayern vs. United is an easy question for every non United fan.

We have more international titles.
We have more national titles.
We have more members.
We have more fan clubs.
We have a higher attendance.
Regarding finances we are pretty much on par.
...and you have more (fake) shirts in asia and africa, congrats
 
FujiVice said:
Bayern are not a bigger club than Man United. Not in a million fecking years. Nobody gives a feck about Bayern Munich outside football fans in Europe. Goes to Asia and Africa and I've sure they arent wearing "Muller 25" on their shirts. People need to get out of this daft bubble that success of the pitch is what makes sport so romantic. Its not. Its a part of it. But you I can guarantee there's nobody on that list who remains in the top earners, top attendance, top fanbase etc. if they had the 10 years we've had. It goes to show how massive Manchester United is that we've been dog shit for the longest time, and we're still as attractive to the public across the globe than ever.
Click to expand...

Real Madrid can have double of your last 10 years and will still be bigger
 
In terms of fans and prestige it used to be:

Madrid
United
Bayern
Barcelona
Liverpool or maybe Juventus

Now I think it would be:

Madrid
Barcelona
Bayern
Liverpool
Juventus
 
Swoobs said:
Real Madrid can have double of your last 10 years and will still be bigger
Click to expand...
That's simply bollocks. United hasnt improved the stadium (attendance or otherwise), hasnt had the infrastructure to make them a force in Europe, has had owners actively taking money out of the club. If that happened to Real Madrid, with that fanbase, you think they'd be as glamerous if they were in the Europa League and their main signing every summer was someone past their best? Absolutely not. Never judge a side on the good times. See what they're like in the bad times.
 
FujiVice said:
That's simply bollocks. United hasnt improved the stadium (attendance or otherwise), hasnt had the infrastructure to make them a force in Europe, has had owners actively taking money out of the club. If that happened to Real Madrid, with that fanbase, you think they'd be as glamerous if they were in the Europa League and their main signing every summer was someone past their best? Absolutely not. Never judge a side on the good times. See what they're like in the bad times.
Click to expand...

Could you point us to one of these bad times for Madrid? It’s kind of the point that they’ve been consistently top, or thereabouts, for the last 60 years. We had success with Busby, were shit for 25 years, had 25 years of Fergie and have now been shit again for over 10 years. The consistent dominance is what makes Real Real.

I hate to admit it, but we’re just not on their level. Not to say we can’t be, but we’re not going to be comparable until we can have another prolonged period of domestic dominance and be dominant in Europe at the same time.
 
FujiVice said:
That's simply bollocks. United hasnt improved the stadium (attendance or otherwise), hasnt had the infrastructure to make them a force in Europe, has had owners actively taking money out of the club. If that happened to Real Madrid, with that fanbase, you think they'd be as glamerous if they were in the Europa League and their main signing every summer was someone past their best? Absolutely not. Never judge a side on the good times. See what they're like in the bad times.
Click to expand...

An owner like the Glazers wouldn't survive at Real Madrid. In more ways than one, I imagine. Their fan base wouldn't permit it. I suspect the government wouldn't permit it either.

And you say that as if Real Madrid have existed for 20 years. There's a reason they don't have 'bad' times in their long history.
 
njred said:
Bayern generate more shirt sales than any English club. In this day and age that defines popularity to a huge degree. If people are willing to shell out 100s on a football shirt for a team that tells a lot on the current size of a club.
Click to expand...
That is one criteria and it is a flawed one. Bayern are not as popular or marketable as United or even Liverpool for that matter, let alone the big two Spanish clubs. On a global level that is.
 
BayernFan87 said:
The biggest reason there are more United shirts in asia is the popularity of the PL and the easy accesibility of the english language.
If you go by the number of shirts in asia and africa Arsenal and Tottenham are a bigger club than Barca.

I guess we all fans are a bit biased but Bayern vs. United is an easy question for every non United fan.

We have more international titles.
We have more national titles.
We have more members.
We have more fan clubs.
We have a higher attendance.
Regarding finances we are pretty much on par.
...and you have more (fake) shirts in asia and africa, congrats
Click to expand...
Within the European football landscape, Bayern and United are comparable. There were periods when we were bigger and periods when Bayern would be bigger like the past 10 years. But from a global popularity, marketing perspecting, it's not even a contest. United are much bigger. Not that that's something to brag about by the way, but it's just a fact for exactly the reasons you highlighted.
 
Theonas said:
Within the European football landscape, Bayern and United are comparable. There were periods when we were bigger and periods when Bayern would be bigger like the past 10 years. But from a global popularity, marketing perspecting, it's not even a contest. United are much bigger. Not that that's something to brag about by the way, but it's just a fact for exactly the reasons you highlighted.
Click to expand...
So why is it, that United and Bayern have the same revenue despite United getting much more TV money?
 
Telsim said:
An owner like the Glazers wouldn't survive at Real Madrid. In more ways than one, I imagine. Their fan base wouldn't permit it. I suspect the government wouldn't permit it either.

And you say that as if Real Madrid have existed for 20 years. There's a reason they don't have 'bad' times in their long history.
Click to expand...
Because they are a government funded evil empire who has had their way for decades.. Our fans stopped us from being one in 1998 when Murdoch tried to buy us. Is Murdoch bought us, we'd have won countless Champions Leagues and basically monopolised the Premiership. Sadly we couldnt stop the Glazers from taking over, and look at us now.

Dating back to Louis Edwards this club has been ran solely on the support of its fans and people like Matt Busby and Alex Ferguson. Every owner has treated it as a cash cow where the manager has to be a miracle worker to do anything on the pitch. This never started with the Glazers. Manchester United has always been a gimmick for the owners to make money.
 
Acrobat7 said:
So why is it, that United and Bayern have the same revenue despite United getting much more TV money?
Click to expand...
Because we arent in a one team team, where Bayern can basically eliminate any competition by gobbling up their managers. Bayern will always be in the champions league and in the hunt for the best players in the division. Man United have been shit for a decade. You should be way ahead, but you arent.
 
Havak said:
Most successful doesn't have to mean biggest IMO. I would class Arsenal as a bigger club than Ajax, even though they haven't won a single European Cup and their only European success of note was a Cup Winner's Cup.
Click to expand...

Laughable.

Same as people not putting Bayern in that very elite bracket.
 
FujiVice said:
Because we arent in a one team team, where Bayern can basically eliminate any competition by gobbling up their managers. Bayern will always be in the champions league and in the hunt for the best players in the division. Man United have been shit for a decade. You should be way ahead, but you arent.
Click to expand...
That CL money closes part of the gap the PL/BL TV contracts create in favour of United (that gap is in part also due to the marketability of United, that has to be said).

United gets more out of the PL, Bayern gets more out of the CL in terms of global exposure.

If we assume that you are right, the only logical conclusion is: United is absolutely terrible at making money. Considering that the only purpose United has is MAKING money, that is doubtful. In contrast Bayern's purpose of existence is winning stuff (see above, won is an entertainment company that shall make money for its owners, the other is a club that shall make its members happy by being successful on the pitch).
 
Real in a tier of their own then the rest you can order as you like.
 
Acrobat7 said:
So why is it, that United and Bayern have the same revenue despite United getting much more TV money?
Click to expand...
But revenue alone is not the only indicator. United have fans in regions where they don't contribute financially in terms of subscriptions or buying shirts for example is one factor.
 
BayernFan87 said:
Tbh i dont think that many will put you in the top 5 but just one step behind

1. Real
2. Bayern (yeah may be a bit biased but i think the last 15 years and our national run put us slightly ahead Milan and Liverpool for the moment)
3. Milan
4. Liverpool
5. Barca
6.-9. in no order: Ajax, United, Juve, Inter
Click to expand...

If Bayern's last 15 years elevates them to the number 2 spot, why are Milan and Liverpool 3rd and 4th? Milan I think have 2 Scudettos since the turn of the millennium, last won the CL almost 20 years ago (and they're almost certain to go 20+ years without one) and Liverpool have 2 CLs and 1 PL title in 34 years. Neither are top 5 richest or have a top 5 biggest fanbase either.

Barca's 2005-2015 era is greater than any era Bayern, Liverpool, AC Milan, or United ever produced. How are they just 5th?

Why does United's 21 year period from 1992 to 2013 not matter as much as Bayern since 2009 until today?

What could Inter Milan possibly have over United?

Sorry but this seems like a personal preference rather than the real greatness and size of the clubs.
 
Last edited:
Theonas said:
But revenue alone is not the only indicator. United have fans in regions where they don't contribute financially in terms of subscriptions or buying shirts for example is one factor.
Click to expand...
So how do you measure United being bigger than Bayern?
It is not international titles, it is not revenue, it is not commercial income.
 
FujiVice said:
Because we arent in a one team team, where Bayern can basically eliminate any competition by gobbling up their managers. Bayern will always be in the champions league and in the hunt for the best players in the division. Man United have been shit for a decade. You should be way ahead, but you arent.
Click to expand...
First of all, you sound like an extremely bitter poster and afer this I will not reply further.

You wrote - and I quote: "But from a global popularity, marketing perspecting, it's not even a contest."

You write that United is far ahead of Bayern from a global marketing perspective. It wouldn't even be a contest. But Bayern generate more commercial income, which is marketing.

Anyways, this is tiresome. Have a good day.
 
Bayern is not as big as Manchester United.

Main reason is that Bayern plays in the Bundesliga, a league that no one outside of Germany has any sort of interest in.
A league where every club bar Bayern is essentially a stepping stone for a future move to Bayern or big European or English clubs, for every player who is good.

Another reason is the Manchester United had some of the most famous players in the world play for them, not just world class players, Bayern had those as well, but world famous superstars, From George Best, to Eric Cantona, to David Beckham to Cristiano Ronaldo.

Bonus reason: Camp Nou 1999
 
German being German and taking this waaaay too seriously :confused: ?
 
Acrobat7 said:
So how do you measure United being bigger than Bayern?
It is not international titles, it is not revenue, it is not commercial income.
Click to expand...
I didn't say United were bigger as I don't know what criteria to use for that. I said United were more popular globally and a more recognizable brand globally. The reason for that is that United were the poster boys for the most popular league in the world at the time when the game became more globalized than ever and especially the Premier League. The German league has never enjoyed that kind of popularity in other continents.
 
mav_9me said:
I'd be more interested in non united fans answers on this. Curious to see where they see United
Click to expand...

Madrid by far ahead

mav_9me said:
I'd be more interested in non united fans answers on this. Curious to see where they see United
Click to expand...


Madrid are the biggest have both the European and domestic prestige
Same for Munich and Milan and Barca

Same for Liverpool

United simply haven't won as much as Europe as they should have. Brand wise they're up there after Madrid along with Liverpool
 
Theonas said:
I didn't say United were bigger as I don't know what criteria to use for that. I said United were more popular globally and a more recognizable brand globally. The reason for that is that United were the poster boys for the most popular league in the world at the time when the game became more globalized than ever and especially the Premier League. The German league has never enjoyed that kind of popularity in other continents.
Click to expand...

This is something a lot of people don't realize. It's also why United are above Liverpool in basically everything except CLs won. They stopped winning just when football grew into a global phenomenon, especially the Premier League. And that's when we started winning.
 
Depends on what you factor in, you have a few contenders after Real.

I'd go with Liverpool, Bayern, Barca, United. Could switch United with MIlan or Juventus I guess.
 
Rojofiam said:
If Bayern's last 15 years elevates them to the number 2 spot, why are Milan and Liverpool 3rd and 4th? Milan I think have 2 Scudettos since the turn of the millennium, last won the CL almost 20 years ago (and they're almost certain to go 20+ years without one) and Liverpool have 2 CLs and 1 PL title in 34 years. Neither are top 5 richest or have a top 5 biggest fanbase either.

Barca's 2005-2015 era is greater than any era Bayern, Liverpool, AC Milan, or United ever produced. How are they just 5th?

Why does United's 21 year period from 1992 to 2013 not matter as much as Bayern since 2009 until today?

What could Inter Milan possibly have over United?

Sorry but this seems like a personal preference rather than the real greatness and size of the clubs.
Click to expand...
My primary metric is the number of CL titles, because its the best in my opinion.
Milan still has the 2nd most CL titles and if their International and national titles werent mostly a bit longer ago, they would be clear number 2 imo.

Barcas run from 05 to 15 is obviously great but they werent as good before and after that as some other teams.

And i dont have Inter over United. They are the same bracket for me.

Edit: after reading your post again i think we misunderstood each other.
I dont rank Bayern on 2 just because of the last 15 years.
I ranked them above Milan and Liverpool (who are historically quite comparable imo) because in the last 10-15 years we were better than them.
 
Rojofiam said:
This is something a lot of people don't realize. It's also why United are above Liverpool in basically everything except CLs won. They stopped winning just when football grew into a global phenomenon, especially the Premier League. And that's when we started winning.
Click to expand...
League Cup and UEFA Cup aren't insignificant.
 
Theonas said:
That is one criteria and it is a flawed one. Bayern are not as popular or marketable as United or even Liverpool for that matter, let alone the big two Spanish clubs. On a global level that is.
Click to expand...
Yet they sell more shirts. Big indication
 
FujiVice said:
Bayern are not a bigger club than Man United. Not in a million fecking years. Nobody gives a feck about Bayern Munich outside football fans in Europe. Goes to Asia and Africa and I've sure they arent wearing "Muller 25" on their shirts. People need to get out of this daft bubble that success of the pitch is what makes sport so romantic. Its not. Its a part of it. But you I can guarantee there's nobody on that list who remains in the top earners, top attendance, top fanbase etc. if they had the 10 years we've had. It goes to show how massive Manchester United is that we've been dog shit for the longest time, and we're still as attractive to the public across the globe than ever.
Click to expand...
Agreed. It's those South American kids in their "Shaw 23" shirts that are keeping the dream alive....
 
There has been some serious underrating of Ac Milan. A massive club that, like Liverpool and United, just fell into a long period of decline but are getting back to where they belong now.
 
Irwin99 said:
There has been some serious underrating of Ac Milan. A massive club that, like Liverpool and United, just fell into a long period of decline but are getting back to where they belong now.
Click to expand...
I hope so, but after winning the title 3 seasons ago they came in 20 points behind the chamipon twice.
 
Irwin99 said:
There has been some serious underrating of Ac Milan. A massive club that, like Liverpool and United, just fell into a long period of decline but are getting back to where they belong now.
Click to expand...

Milan's decline is bigger than United's and they don't have the fortune of playing in the Premier League so there's at least 10-13 clubs who they cannot really compete with on the transfer market: PL top 7, Real, Atletico, Barca, Bayern, PSG, I'd add Juventus as well + at least 15 more who they can compete with but not outspend, as basically every PL team can usually spend £100m+ in a transfer window.

Their short to medium term future also isn't looking bright at all, as both Juventus and Inter have considerably better managers than anyone AC Milan could get at this point, better squads, and more money at least in the case of Juventus. I don't get why you think they're getting back to where they belong, as they're incredibly unlikely to win a league title in the next 3-5 years.
 
Rojofiam said:
This is something a lot of people don't realize. It's also why United are above Liverpool in basically everything except CLs won. They stopped winning just when football grew into a global phenomenon, especially the Premier League. And that's when we started winning.
Click to expand...
Yea I think if people remove the mine is bigger than yours attitude and see it more as a timing/geographic factor, it's easier to be a bit more objective. Real Madrid and Barcelona benefit from their geography. The area in the world that has traditionally produced the very best players relate culturally and lifestyle wise much more to Spanish and Italian teams which contribute a lot to their success and popularity. We and Liverpool benefit from the might of the English language and British empire and in our specific case, our timing to have our most successful era coincided perfectly with the Sky revolution. I don't think anybody has reached the highest status solely on their own work or whatever.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.