The 20-times English champions knocked Madrid off the perch they had occupied for 11 years with a return to the Champions League and increased commercial revenue key to their rise. Real dropped to third behind Barcelona with Bayern Munich fourth and Manchester City into the top five for the first time after a run to the Champions League semi-finals. "The appearance of Leicester shows that on-pitch success gives any Premier League club a chance of a place in the top 20. "There is a strong chance that almost all Premier League clubs will be in the top 30 clubs next year." "It has taken phenomenal commercial revenue growth to help them (United) achieve this," Dan Jones, partner in the Sports Business Group at Deloitte, said, referring to a 71 million increase in commercial revenue.

Source: The Star January 19, 2017 00:13 UTC