The victories of Harry Redknapp and Milan Mandaric in court and the resignation of Fabio Capello as England manager have rightly dominated the news agenda this week. Both were five-year sagas that finally drew to a close, though Redknapp is likely to be the overall winner as his now untarnished reputation is sought after by the public, players and probably the FA to replace £6 million-per-year Capello.

Shadowed by these stories, but equally as significant, was the release of the Deloitte Football Money League, showing the incomes of the top teams of Europe for 2010-11.

Unsurprisingly Real Madrid and Barcelona topped the chart with £433 million and £407 million respectively as they continue to dominate the Spanish television revenue stream. Manchester United, with their worldwide appeal, were third (£331.4 million) and Bayern Munich followed in fourth (£290.3 million).

However, there are three other surprises that contrast how money is affecting the game.

Manchester City continued to lead the way in the Premier League, largely thanks to their rich owner Sheikh Mansour, but only find themselves 12th in Europe for income last year (£153.2 million).

Liverpool remained ninth with £183.6 million despite not being able to qualify for the Champions League.

Furthermore, Arsenal continue to qualify for Europe’s big event every season with very little transfer spending, yet generate the fifth highest income in the continent of £226.8 million.

What do we take from these? Manchester City’s reliance on their owner’s wealth is staggering. Liverpool continue to generate a reasonable income but cannot even make the top four in the Premier League, while Arsenal are showing how it should be done with a strong income but little in the way of spending.

Uefa is looking to bring in financial fair play rules in the next couple of years, forcing clubs to improve their finances, and it looks as though they will need to enforce it to make sure Europe’s top clubs are not put in danger in the future.

While the money they are receiving is strong now, is it sustainable? Deloitte’s report may have not got the coverage it probably deserved this week, but it may need to be the focus of attention in the coming years as clubs flirt with financial danger.