February 9, 2012 - 13:40 AMT
Real Madrid tops football rich list for 7th year in a row

Real Madrid and Barcelona are football's biggest moneymakers for the third straight year and look set to out-earn their rivals for the foreseeable future, AP reported.

The annual review of football finance by Deloitte shows Madrid topping the list for the seventh straight year with revenue of Euro 479.5 million ($636.5 million) to the year ending June 30, an increase of 9 percent on the previous 12 months.

Barcelona trails Madrid by seven points in the Spanish league but its revenue increased 13 percent to Euro 451 million ($599 million) and it could rise further if the team retains the Champions League title.

English champion Manchester United was again in third place with Euro 367 million ($487.2 million), the highest of four English clubs in the top 10 earners. Bayern Munich was fourth with Euro 321.4 million ($426.6 million), with Arsenal, Chelsea, AC Milan, Inter Milan, Liverpool and Schalke next.