MANCHESTER United continue to lead the way as the highest-earning Premier League club, but remain behind Spanish giants Real Madrid and Barcelona in football’s rich list.

According to the 2012 Deloitte Football Money League, published today, six of the world’s 12 richest clubs by revenue are based in England.

United are third on the list after their revenues grew 16 per cent to £331.4 million in 2010-11, largely thanks to £20-million-a-season shirt sponsorship deal with AON and the club’s run to the Champions League final.

Yet the Premier League title holders still lost ground on Spain’s big two in the Money League, the top six of which remained unchanged for the fourth successive year.

Real Madrid top the money list for the seventh consecutive year with a record turnover of £433m while European champions Barcelona complete a La Liga one-two after the Catalan club’s 13 per cent year-on-year growth resulted in revenues of £407m.

United’s failure to qualify for the knockout stages of the Champions League this season will likely result in the gulf between the club and their Spanish opponents stretching to over £80m in next year’s accounts.

The Premier League has consolidated its position as the dominant financial force in world football in the Money League, with six teams in the top 20 and a further five English clubs were just outside the top 20 for revenues in the 2010-11 season (Aston Villa, Newcastle United, Everton, West Ham United and Sunderland).

Arsenal (fifth) and Chelsea (sixth) remain unchanged in the Money League despite both clubs recording drops in turnover, while Liverpool’s commercial power keeps them in the top 10 in ninth place, even though the Anfield club did not participate in the Champions League last season.

Tottenham’s debut season in Europe’s elite competition, in which they reached the quarter-finals, saw revenue grow by 36 per cent to £163.5m.

Alan Switzer, a director in the Sports Business Group at Deloitte, said: “Spurs recently received planning consent for a new stadium development, coupled with a continuation of their recent on-pitch form, could secure a Money League top 10 position for the club on a frequent basis. A glance across North-London to Arsenal leaves little doubt of the scale and impact of the increased matchday revenue opportunities that arise from a modern stadium development.”

Tottenham leapfrogged Manchester City, who dropped one place to 12th, but City are expected to break into the top 10 next season after playing in the Champions League this term.

Switzer added: “The club’s heavy squad investment secured Champions League football for 2011/12. When combined with the groundbreaking 10-year partnership with Etihad, this will provide substantial growth across all three revenue sources and will see City break into the top 10 in the Money League next year.”

All revenue figures in the Money League report are based on the 2010-11 season or the most recent available calendar year. It focuses on the revenue generated by each club, not expenditure such as wages and debt management.

The ‘big five’ European leagues are all represented in the Money League, with German club Schalke the biggest climbers, jumping six places and pushing Italian giants Juventus out of the top 10 in the process. Schalke’s dramatic rise up the Money League came as a result of a Champions League campaign that saw the club reach the semi-finals of the competition.

The combined revenues of the world’s 20 highest-earning football clubs have defied the gloomy economic forecasts around Europe by growing three per cent on the previous year.

They have achieved double the rate of growth of the economies of the countries represented in the Money League, which grew on average by just 1.7 per cent during the course of 2010 and by 1.3 per cent in 2011.

The 20 clubs generated £3.7 billion in revenue during the 2010-11 season and now represent over a quarter of the total revenues of the European football market. Nine of the top 20 clubs recorded double-digit growth in the year.

Dan Jones, Partner in the Sports Business Group at Deloitte, added: “Continued growth of the top 20 clubs during 2010-11 emphasises the strength of football’s top clubs, especially in these tough economic times.

“Whilst revenue growth has slowed from eight per cent in 2009-10 to three per cent in 2010-11, their large and loyal supporter bases, ability to drive strong broadcast audiences and continuing attraction to corporate partners has made them relatively resilient to the conomic downturn.”