According to the accountancy firm Deloitte, United retained second place with £257.1m in revenue, £32m behind Real, in the annual top 20 richest football clubs list.
In usual circumstances United's success in winning last year's titles would have automatically led to the number one spot. However, their performance was derailed by the collapse in the value of sterling.
But the weak pound has not diluted the English presence in the top 20. This year there are seven clubs, one more than last year and one less than the previous record. Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool all make the top 10, occupying slots five to seven respectively. Manchester City join Tottenham and Newcastle United in the second half of the table.
Despite the downturn Deloitte remained optimistic about the game's ability to survive thanks to loyal fanbases and long-term broadcast deals. It also predicted that revenue from marketing and licensing would remain stable especially as football remained a prime route to targeting ABC1 males.
However, it did sound a note of caution around corporate hospitality, which generates as much as 40% of income on match days at some clubs, saying that budgets in this area are expected to fall.
Last week BSkyB paid the Premier League £1.62bn for the television rights to 115 games each season from 2010 to 2013 and Setanta secured the one remaining package of 23 games.