England's top football clubs are the globe's financial champions, an influential report has said.

While England's national squad failed to progress beyond the World Cup quarter-finals, its Premiership clubs, which have seen income rise by 22%, are the envy of foreign rivals, consultancy Deloitte & Touche Sport said.

England's most profitable clubs

1: Manchester United, �31.1m 2: Liverpool, �10.4m 3: Leeds, �10.1m 4: Tottenham Hotspur, �9.4m 5: Sunderland, �9.0m Data: Operating profit 2000-01

"If the World Cup was decided on financial and economic criteria, we would be bringing home the trophy right now," Gerry Boon, head of D&T Sport, told BBC News Online.

Manchester United was again England's most profitable club, with Liverpool rising from 78th place to second, and Leeds edging two places higher to third, said Thursday's report, which covered the 2000-01 season.

Instant deficit

But the report also revealed the financial challenges facing England's Premiership and lower-league clubs, only 18 of which were profitable.

The overall pre-tax losses of English clubs rose by almost one quarter to �179m over the year.

And Division One clubs now spend more on wages than they receive in income.

"The average Division One club is in deficit as soon as its wages are paid out, never mind the other costs it has to meet," the report said.

'Part of the landscape'

Yet while many commentators have predicted the imminent collapse of many clubs, Mr Boon denied that the sport was "rotten to the core".

Europe's football income league

1: England, 24% 2: Italy, 17% 3: Spain, 14% 4: Germany, 13% 5: France, 10% 6: Netherlands, 4% Data: Share of total income to top divisions in UEFA countries

Even in September 1900 five or six clubs were reported to have run up a deficit.

"At least 95% of clubs which had a deficit 100 years ago are still here, and will probably still be here in another 100 years," Mr Boon said,

"It is just a part of the landscape," he added, crediting the survival of loss-making clubs to a tradition of benefactors.

Foreign opportunities

Wage growth which, at 17.6%, was the lowest in 2000-01 for five years - and below the increase in club revenues - gave reason for confidence in the finances of Premiership operations, Mr Boon said.

And with Premiership clubs accounting for almost half of gate receipts recorded by Europe's big five leagues, the lack of reliance on broadcasting revenue was a further ground for optimism.

The clubs also had, in foreign earnings, a revenue stream that had yet to be effectively exploited.

"When you consider that something like 40 million of Manchester United's 50 million fans are outside the country, yet only 3% of the club's income is earned abroad, you can see there is a large potential opportunity for stretching profits," Mr Boon said.

"That's there for the Man Uniteds, Arsenals, Chelseas, Liverpools to take."

Richest prize

While Division One clubs appeared to be in worsening financial straits, this reflected spending risks taken to seize the huge prize of a place in the Premiership.

May's Division One play-off final between Birmingham City and Norwich was worth �27m to the winner, through Premiership perks.

The game was "probably the richest club game in the world", Deloitte said.

Mr Boon said: "Top First Division clubs might spend, say, �4m to get a chance of winning the �27m. It is a gamble, and when you are Jack Walker's Blackburn or Mohammed Al-Fayed's Fulham, you can probably afford to take it."

He declined to comment on the likely impact of ITV Digital's collapse on clubs, on the grounds that Deloitte & Touche was administrating the failed broadcaster.