Real Madrid has remained football's biggest money maker for the eighth straight year. The Spanish champions became the first sports team anywhere to break the €500 million ($666 million) revenue barrier as they stayed ahead of Spanish rival Barcelona in the Football Money League compiled by accountancy firm Deloitte. Both teams saw their income rise by 7% during the 2011-12 season with Madrid taking in €512.6 million ($683 million) and Barcelona €483 million ($643million). Third-place Manchester United revenue's dropped, with a fall of 3 percent to 320.3 million pounds ($507 million) after exiting last season's Champions League at the group stage led to a reduction in television income. Bayern Munich are on €368.4 million ($490 million), European champions Chelsea on £261 million ($413 million) and Arsenal on £234.9 million ($372 million). These clubs have some of the largest fan bases and hence strongest revenues, in both domestic and international markets
Even four-time European champions Ajax Amsterdam and twice winners Benfica now find it impossible to compete with the financial clout of teams from England, France, Spain, Italy and Germany. Rangers and Celtic have often talked about packing their bags and exiting the Scottish league to join the English league. Frustrated with the growing gulf, some smaller countries have dabbled with the idea of merging their national leagues to increase the possibilities for sponsorship and television rights and to even things up.
Several top Russian clubs, including champions Zenit St Petersburg, big spenders Anzhi Makhachkala and CSKA Moscow, unveiled a plan to break away from Russia’s top flight and start a multinational league of up to 16 teams next year. The plan called for six or seven elite Russian clubs, such as Zenit, Anzhi, CSKA and their Moscow rivals Spartak, Dynamo and Lokomotiv, to join four or five top Ukrainian teams, such as Shakhtar Donetsk and Dynamo Kiev, plus one or two from Belarus, Armenia or Azerbaijan to make up the new Confederation of Independent States league.
Fifa president Sepp Blatter’s abrupt rejection of a proposed resurrection of the old Soviet league suggested that clubs will have to make the most of what they have got. "It’s impossible," he told reporters in St Petersburg. "It goes against the principles of Fifa, therefore Fifa would never support such an idea."
A similar plan was announced by clubs from Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia, Slovenia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Hungary and Bulgaria at a meeting in Sofia in 2011, but progress has fizzled out as they wait for approval from (European football governing body) Uefa. Plans for a Czech-Slovak league also appear to have hit the buffers.
Ten years ago, an attempt to form an Atlantic League involving teams from Portugal, Scotland, Sweden, Denmark, Belgium and Netherlands also failed after Uefa warned that the winners would not be able to play in European competitions.
"I am a strong supporter of national leagues and totally against any combination of countries," Theo van Seggelen, secretary-general of the world players’ union FIFPro, said.
Even four-time European champions Ajax Amsterdam and twice winners Benfica now find it impossible to compete with the financial clout of teams from England, France, Spain, Italy and Germany. Rangers and Celtic have often talked about packing their bags and exiting the Scottish league to join the English league. Frustrated with the growing gulf, some smaller countries have dabbled with the idea of merging their national leagues to increase the possibilities for sponsorship and television rights and to even things up.
Several top Russian clubs, including champions Zenit St Petersburg, big spenders Anzhi Makhachkala and CSKA Moscow, unveiled a plan to break away from Russia’s top flight and start a multinational league of up to 16 teams next year. The plan called for six or seven elite Russian clubs, such as Zenit, Anzhi, CSKA and their Moscow rivals Spartak, Dynamo and Lokomotiv, to join four or five top Ukrainian teams, such as Shakhtar Donetsk and Dynamo Kiev, plus one or two from Belarus, Armenia or Azerbaijan to make up the new Confederation of Independent States league.
Fifa president Sepp Blatter’s abrupt rejection of a proposed resurrection of the old Soviet league suggested that clubs will have to make the most of what they have got. "It’s impossible," he told reporters in St Petersburg. "It goes against the principles of Fifa, therefore Fifa would never support such an idea."
A similar plan was announced by clubs from Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia, Slovenia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Hungary and Bulgaria at a meeting in Sofia in 2011, but progress has fizzled out as they wait for approval from (European football governing body) Uefa. Plans for a Czech-Slovak league also appear to have hit the buffers.
Ten years ago, an attempt to form an Atlantic League involving teams from Portugal, Scotland, Sweden, Denmark, Belgium and Netherlands also failed after Uefa warned that the winners would not be able to play in European competitions.
"I am a strong supporter of national leagues and totally against any combination of countries," Theo van Seggelen, secretary-general of the world players’ union FIFPro, said.
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