The European football market is now worth a record €28.4bn (£25.1bn), with the ‘big five’ European leagues contributing €15.6bn (£13.8bn) of the total income – a 6 per cent increase from the previous year.

The 28th Annual Review of Football Finance, published by the Sports Business Group at Deloitte, shows that the English Premier League continues to lead the way and is 72 per cent larger than its nearest competitor, Germany’s Bundesliga.

Premier League club revenues rose to £4.8bn, an increase of 6 per cent, driven by growth in UEFA distributions to English clubs. This was a result of five teams competing in the UEFA Champions League during 2017-18 for the first time in history.

“European club football is in the strongest financial position that we've ever seen," said Dan Jones, partner and head of the Sports Business Group at Deloitte.

"This reflects the drive among leading clubs to generate ever greater revenues to fund success on the pitch and also the sustained efforts of UEFA to improve profitability and sustainability of clubs through Financial Fair Play and club licensing.

"While the Premier League retains its leading position financially, we expect to see other leagues continue to grow in the coming years."