A survey from sports consulting firm Spobis, published in late 2025, named Manchester City and Real Madrid as the clubs generating the most revenue worldwide from primary shirt sponsorships. The two European giants are also set to face each other in the Champions League round of 16, adding another layer of intrigue to an already high-profile matchup.
Manchester City earns about $82 million per year from Etihad Airways for its primary shirt sponsorship. Real Madrid receives roughly $76 million annually from Emirates, although a newly agreed contract renewal could push that figure to nearly $97 million.
However, Real Madrid leads the global ranking when all uniform sponsorships are considered. The Spanish club brings in approximately $282 million per year from jersey-related partnerships, compared to about $186 million for City.
Real Madrid remains the most valuable club in world soccer
Financial strength off the field mirrors the dominance both clubs often show on it.
An annual report by Football Benchmark, released earlier this year, confirmed Real Madrid as the most valuable soccer club in the world, with a valuation of about $7.4 billion. According to the report, that represents growth of 116% since 2016.
Real Madrid also stands out financially for another reason. The study identified the Spanish powerhouse as the only major European club to record a positive cumulative net profit over the past decade.
Forbes reached a similar conclusion. For the ninth time in the past 12 editions of its rankings, the magazine listed Real Madrid as the most valuable soccer club in the world, valuing the team at around $7.2 billion, up 2% from 2024.
Global reach drives sponsorship growth
According to sports marketing experts, these enormous sponsorship deals reflect the global visibility of elite clubs.
“It’s not only about the values themselves. The brands sponsoring these teams are directly interested in where their logos appear and the communities they reach,” said Renê Salviano, CEO of Heatmap and a specialist in sports sponsorship and marketing activations.
“When matches are broadcast worldwide, like Premier League games, the numbers naturally grow. At the same time, more global brands compete for these spaces.”
Premier League clubs dominate the richest rankings
Behind Real Madrid in overall club valuation are two English clubs: Manchester City, valued at roughly $6 billion, and Manchester United at around $5.9 billion.
Premier League teams dominate the upper end of the rankings, with six clubs appearing in the global top 10.
“It will be difficult to remove Real Madrid from this position,” said Thiago Freitas, chief operating officer of Roc Nation Sports. “The club remains one of the most traditional institutions in the sport. It continues to compete with and often defeat teams backed by billionaire ownership groups that have transformed the game in recent decades.”
“Real Madrid is still perceived as a brand that represents more than just money. It represents a history bigger than any single fortune.”
The biggest shirt sponsorship deals in world soccer
Looking only at primary shirt sponsors, the top 10 includes five Premier League teams.
In addition to Manchester City’s deal with Etihad Airways, Manchester United receives about $76 million per year from Snapdragon. Arsenal’s agreement with Emirates is worth around $63 million annually, while Liverpool’s shirt sponsorship brings in a similar figure. Tottenham rounds out the group with a deal worth about $50 million per year from AIA.
Other clubs in the top 10 include Paris Saint-Germain, which receives roughly $76 million annually from Qatar Airways, Juventus with about $75 million from Jeep, and Bayern Munich, the only German club on the list, earning around $54 million per year from Telekom.
Brazilian clubs still far behind Europe’s elite
Compared with Europe’s biggest teams, Brazilian clubs remain far behind financially.
Even Tottenham, ranked 10th in the sponsorship list, earns about $45 million per year from its primary shirt deal. The Brazilian club closest to those figures is Flamengo, which recently signed a new agreement with Betano worth approximately $39 million per year, a record for Brazilian soccer.
“These are clubs that have become global brands,” said Thales Rangel Mafia, marketing director at Multimarcas Consórcios. “They’ve expanded operations beyond Europe, especially into the Asian market. That’s what drives sponsorship values to these levels.”
“We’re talking about organizations with structures that extend far beyond what happens on the field.”
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