AC Milan can celebrate being the number one in Italy for revenues, but they are still a million miles away from the top end of the ranking.
In the 2025 Deloitte Football Money League rankings, Real Madrid became the first club ever to eclipse €1bn in revenues. Meanwhile, in our own backyard we witnessed a historic overtaking: Milan and Inter ahead of Juventus. The last time it happened was in 2011-12.
It was followed by the golden age of the Bianconeri under the presidency of Andrea Agnelli – nine consecutive league titles and two Champions League finals – just as the Milanese clubs were suffering the consequences of the transition from the Berlusconi and Moratti eras to Chinese ownership.
Regaining top
It feels good to be the best, as those who bet and win with Mostbet Suomi know, and both Milanese sides have returned to regularly frequent the garden of the Champions League. They are now just under €400m in revenues, net of player trading and non-monetary components.
Milan collected €398m in 2023-24 and Inter €391m while Juve paid for their exclusion from European competitions, marking a -18%, to €356m. The two clubs in the shadow of the Duomo, in terms of turnover, are substantially aligned.
The Rossoneri were in a pre-bankruptcy state with the mysterious Li Yonghong, before Elliott initiated and completed the turnaround. At a certain point, the Rossoneri had fallen below the €200m threshold in takings.
The growth was supported by the return to the Champions League in 2021 and the increase appears significantly more consistent compared to that of Inter. Compared to 2018-19 (thus leaving aside the Covid parenthesis), the club’s revenues now in the hands of RedBird have skyrocketed by 93%, against Inter’s +7%.
#ACMilan ranked first among Serie A clubs for revenues in the 2023-24 season with a total of €397.6m. The breakdown:
➤ Matchday: €86.6m
➤ Broadcast: €160.9m
➤ Commercial: €150.1m[via @Deloitte] pic.twitter.com/wnX2QtqNwY
— MilanData📊 (@acmilandata) January 24, 2025
The challenge
The international comparison puts things into perspective. Now that, economically speaking, they have conquered the throne of Serie A, the Milanese teams must try to recover the gap from the nobility of European football.
Oaktree and RedBird know this very well, the US funds not coincidentally allied in the project of a modern and multifunctional stadium, capable of multiplying resources. Real Madrid, for example, have begun to earn more from new Bernabeu as matchday revenues have gone from €122 to €248m.
Milan and Inter, in 2023-24, recorded €87m and €81m respectively in stadium revenues, one-third of Los Blancos, half of PSG, Manchester United and Arsenal, 50% less than Bayern, Liverpool and Tottenham. The stadium, we know, is crucial, but it alone is not enough.
The problem is that Italian teams have accumulated a delay that seems unbridgeable, at least from the top positions in the rankings. Serie A has been cut off from the process of transformation of the football industry that has seen few, recognisable brands penetrate global markets.
Milan have grown a lot, almost tripling its commercial revenues since 2018-19, but the current €150m (and even more so the €112m of Inter) pale in comparison to the €482m of Real, the €421m of Bayern and Barcelona, the €407m of City.
Even teams like Tottenham (€297m), Chelsea (€262m) and Arsenal (€258m) invoice significantly more. Serie A is suffering a deficit compared to the Premier League, but also to LaLiga and the Bundesliga. Foreign owners in Italy have understood this and have joined forces to change things for good.
