The rise of the mega club: How Europe's footballing elite are pulling away from the rest

Deloitte's latest Football Money League report shows the dominance of clubs in Europe's 'big five' leagues

Europe's richest clubs posted combined revenues of over €7bn this year (Getty Images)

European football is seeing a "growing trend of polarisation" in wealth as the continent's elite clubs leave the rest behind, a new report has warned.

The annual Football Money League report - compiled by financial consultancy firm Deloitte - has shown that while the amount of revenue growth for Europe's top 20 clubs has risen from 8 per cent to 12 per cent, it is the richest teams seeing by far the biggest gains. The revenue ratio between world football's richest club and its 20th richest club has grown from 3.2:1 in 1997 to 4:1 today.

The Deloitte report notes that only 10 teams have managed to maintain their position in the Money League table (see table below) and that clubs in Europe's "big five" leagues - England, France, Germany, Italy and Spain - are pulling away from the rest.

"In the 20 editions of our Money League to date, there have been 42 different teams from 11 different leagues across the world taking a place in the top 20, with only 10 teams managing to remain ever-present in the top 20," the report notes.

"Even the biggest clubs in Europe outside the ‘big five’ leagues struggle to break into our top 20."

The Deloitte Football Money League ever-presents

1. Manchester United

2. Barcelona

3. Real Madrid

4. Juventus

5. Bayern Munich

6. AC Milan

7. Liverpool

8. Internazionale

9. Tottenham Hotspur

10. Arsenal

That news follows a similar report by Uefa last week which noted that a group of elite European "super clubs" were now dominating the game.

"The top 15 clubs in this analysis have added a remarkable €1,514m in sponsorship and commercial revenues in the last six years (148 per cent increase), compared with the €453m added by the rest of Europe’s 700 or so top-division clubs (17 per cent increase)," Uefa's Club Licensing Benchmarking Report noted.

This year three clubs - Manchester United, Real Madrid and Barcelona - posted revenues of over €600m (£520m) - the first time that feat has been achieved, while the top 20 clubs posted a total revenue of over €7.4bn.

United, which tops this year's rich list, has seen its revenue grow nearly six times in the past two decades - from £88m in 1997 to £515m last year.

Deloitte puts the Old Trafford club's financial success down to its "phenomenal growth" in commercial sales but did warn that the effect of Brexit on the pound could see it lose its place as Europe's top club next year.