'Real now richest club in the world'

Real Madrid president Florentino Perez says the Spanish club has overtaken Manchester United as the biggest earner in world soccer.

"We have now ensured that our income is greater than any other team, it is the highest in the world," Perez said.

"Only Manchester United are close to us, but this year we have overtaken them. We have solved our economic problems forever."

In a report published by consultants Deloitte in February, Manchester United topped the rich list for the eighth year in a row with an income of £171.5 million ($301.7 million) for the 2003-2004 season.

Real were in second place with 156.3 million after halving the gap with United since the previous year. Italy's Milan were third and Chelsea fourth.

But Perez said that the situation had now changed and that Real's income had increased by 250 per cent since he took charge as president five years ago and that the club no longer had any debts.

He spent over €200 million ($241.8 million) in bringing a string of world class players including Luis Figo, Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldo, David Beckham and Michael Owen to the Bernabeu.

He funded the spending spree and cleared the club's debts when he sold its city centre training ground to the Madrid local authority for €480m.

Perez said that in contrast to Manchester United and Chelsea, Real enjoyed the advantage of not being controlled by a single owner but by the club's members.

With regard to Real's sporting fortunes, Perez said that the club's appeal had not been undermined by the fact that they have failed to win a major trophy in the past two seasons, but he did issue a warning to his players about their level of commitment.

"We have had a problem in that we have believed that we could win our games without even getting off the team bus," he said.

"No one should forget that you win by battling it out and working hard. The idea that we can win merely by virtue of being Real Madrid doesn't hold.

"Last season we finished second and that was a failure for this club."