Eleven Premier League clubs generated more revenue than Everton last year but the Blues now have a golden opportunity to cement themselves among the world’s richest.

The Blues were today named within the top 30 football clubs in the world in terms of revenue by financial services specialist Deloitte. Everton snuck in at 27th, sandwiched between Crystal Palace and Fulham.

It was a reminder of the struggles of recent years as clubs such as Brighton and Hove Albion and Palace have surpassed them in both football and financial strength. But that will almost certainly change over the next 12 months with the club on course for game-changing commercial opportunities that new owners The Friedkin Group are working behind-the-scenes to take advantage of.

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With the club set to move to its new state-of-the-art waterfront home next season and Premier League TV revenues expected to offer greater potential than rival leagues over the next few seasons, Everton should naturally push above some league rivals and a host of European outfits. That is before any improvement in on-the-pitch performance, another key driver that Everton have struggled with through three years of relegation fights and a long absence from European competition.

Released on Thursday, the 2024 Deloitte Football Money League is an annual assessment of the state of finance at the top of the sport.

Real Madrid were placed at the top, credited with being the first club to generate more than one billion Euros in a year. Manchester City, Paris Saint Germain, Manchester United and Bayern Munich completed the top five.

With revenue of 217m Euros, Deloitte placed Everton at 27th, some 50m Euros off Lyon and a place in the top 20.

But everything about Deloitte’s assessment of the industry pointed to Everton being on the crest of a positive wave. Central to the success of Real Madrid, and key for some of the better performing clubs, was improvements to their stadium. Deloitte said: “A rise in clubs’ stadium capacity, general ticket prices and premium matchday offerings caused matchday revenues to grow 11% year-on-year, making it the fastest growing revenue stream for Money League clubs once again.”

For Everton the move to the banks of the Mersey has long been viewed as an opportunity to unlock the club’s economic potential. That dream is just months from reality now and will almost certainly push Everton up the table next year. With thousands of additional seats, almost 4,000 more hospitality packages and new bars and restaurants, the club is expected to double matchday revenue through the move.

Deloitte pointed to the increase in non-football revenue that was key to the success of Liverpool and Lyon. Anfield now holds major concerts while, Deloitte said: “During the 2023/24 season, several football clubs hosted major sporting events in their stadia, boosting commercial revenues. For instance, select French clubs benefitted from the 2023 Rugby World Cup and German clubs from the 2024 UEFA EUROs. Recognition of the reliability and potential upside from venue-generated income has led to half of the Money League clubs pursuing stadia redevelopment in 2025.”

Everton hope the new stadium will become an iconic concert venue while the club is also in line to host games in Euro 2028, while it has also received interest from sports including rugby league. Many of its bars and restaurants will be open on non-matchdays, while significant interest is also expected in stadium tours when they begin in autumn.

Work to maximise the commercial opportunities presented by the move has already begun. Everton have signed ‘founding partner’ deals with sponsors including kit supplier Castore, food services firm Aramark and watch maker Christopher Ward and have entered into important deals with the likes of tech firm HPE Aruba and facilities management firm OCS.

All of this should form a strong core to next season’s finances, while the club accounts will benefit from the stability provided by TFG’s takeover. TFG are currently exploring another lucrative opportunity - stadium naming rights - and are keen to investigate options for developing the club’s footprint around the new stadium.

Separately, the stability of the Premier League broadcast deal should provide top flight English clubs with a stronger foundation than European rivals. While the ‘big five’ European leagues are all anticipating mid-term stability in this area, Deloitte identified a potential “uplift” for the Premier League in 2025/26.

That is all before any improvement on the pitch is realised. While the club’s outlook would darken considerably in the event of relegation, Everton’s win over Tottenham Hotspur - David Moyes’ first win since his return as boss - opened a gap to the bottom four and offered fresh impetus to the campaign. Should the club start to perform better on the pitch, competition money will be an additional factor in an improving commercial picture, though qualification for Europe will be needed for the club to mount a serious challenge on the higher echelons of the money league table.