Sportico publishes an annual ranking of club value that includes a total of 50 teams from around the world. Surprisingly, the first place is occupied by Manchester United, which has been plagued by financial problems for many years.
How did they think?
To determine the value, Sportico calculated the income of each club using data from financial reports and annual rankings of the Deloitte Football Money League for the 2018/2019, 2021/2022 and 2022/2023 seasons. Transfer costs were not taken into account, but even without this the list was extensive:
income from television broadcasts (both nationally and internationally); income from prize money from competitions; income from sponsorship, advertising, catering, events outside of match days, etc.); competitions.
Additionally, each specific team had its own multiplier, based on many factors. These are historical sales, the size of the market and the interest of potential owners in it. In addition to brand strength, historical and recent sports performance, real estate lease terms, debt load and additional obligations. And also the expected economic situation of the club and the league in which it plays. This coefficient ranged from 2.25 to 8.
Although Real won the Champions League, they are still second in the ranking:
“Real”. Again
What happened
Among the top ten are the largest number of Premier League clubs – six at once: Manchester United (1), Liverpool (4), Manchester City (6), Arsenal (8), Tottenham (9) and Chelsea ( 10). Manchester United, which has suffered losses in recent seasons, came in first place, ahead of Real Madrid by $140 million worldwide, highlighting that the Manchester club, despite financial problems, It has a strong brand, a huge fan base and a good commercial. contracts (just look at the deal with adidas, which became a record: $115 million a year for a 10-year deal).
PlaceClubAppraised valueIncome for the 2022/2023 season1Manchester United$6.2 billion$778 million2Real Madrid$6.06 billion$844 million3Barcelona$5.28 billion$836 million4Liverpool$5.11 billion$713 million5Bayern $4.8 billion $781 million 6 Manchester City $4.75 billion $855 million 7 PSG $4.05 billion $842 million 8 Arsenal $3.91 billion $8 million 9 Tottenham $3.49 billion $660 million 10 Chelsea $3.47 billion $615 million
In total, there are nine representatives of the Premier League in the ranking: in addition to the “big six”, there are also West Ham (27 – 725 million dollars), Newcastle (32 – 700 million dollars) and Aston Villa (44 – 600 million dollars). he did it there. The London club turned out to be the best outside the top ten because its commercial income is higher than that of the other two representatives who reached the top. Next season the situation may change, as Aston Villa rushes to reach the Champions League.
The clubs’ position may also be affected by the new Premier League rules:
The new financial restrictions in the Premier League are strict. It will be much more difficult for the big ones.
There are only three Spanish clubs in the ranking: in addition to Real Madrid and Barcelona, Atlético de Madrid is in 13th place. The combined value of this trio is about 13 billion dollars, which is more than the value of representatives of any other league, except the Premier League and MLS. But the inclusion of only three Spanish clubs in the top 50, even though they are highly rated, suggests that the competitive balance in La Liga is significantly altered. And this is mainly due to the distribution of income from television broadcasts: among the main championships, the Spanish system is the most unequal. La Liga boss Javier Tebas has been desperately trying in recent years to catch up with the Premier League in terms of revenue, but so far it has only been possible to take small steps in this direction.
Interestingly, Italy is represented by six clubs, but their cost is less than that of the four Bundesliga teams (Bayer, by the way, is not among them, but there is Leipzig). This is because financial regulations are stricter in Germany, which puts clubs in a higher position in terms of income-to-expenditure ratio. The six Serie A clubs (Juventus, Milan, Inter, Roma, Napoli and Atalanta) are collectively valued even lower than Manchester United alone: $6.1 billion.
In Germany, fans canceled a billion-dollar deal: they do it for the purity of football:
“The protests have become exciting.” Fans forced German clubs to give up one billion euros!
But surprisingly, the MLS became the leader in the number of clubs: 20 teams entered the ranking, occupying places from 15 to 50. The first place was occupied by the Los Angeles Galaxy, which Sportico valued even more than Inter ($1.15 billion compared to 1,060 million dollars). And this despite the fact that the American club’s income last season was 128 million dollars, and that of the Milanese club was 405 million dollars.
Los Angeles Galaxy players
Photo: Harry How/Getty Images
MLS teams earn much less than European teams, but in this case Sportico evaluated their potential for long-term financial growth. American clubs have a higher rate than European clubs, and this is explained by several factors. The first is the league’s strict cost control rules and the absence of a relegation system, which guarantees the financial stability of the teams. This year, the teams’ combined revenue grew by 25%, which is a huge increase. The second is the increase in interest and the upcoming major competitions (Club World Cup, Copa América and World Cup 2026), which also affect the public’s attention. Another interesting fact is that 27 clubs out of 50 in the ranking belong to American owners, which indicates the United States’ interest in soccer and as an attractive business.
Although not everyone does it well:
The Americans have been trying to buy a Premier League club for six months. This deal will completely kill Everton
LeagueNumber of clubsThe most expensive clubtotal costMLS20LA Galaxy ($1.15 billion)$15.1 billionEPL9Manchester United ($6.2 billion)$29 billionSerie A6Milan ($1.2 billion)$6.1 billionBundesliga4 Bayern ($4.8 billion) $7.6 billion La Ligue 3 Real ($6.06 billion) $13 billion Liga MX3 América ($750 million) $ 2 billion Ligue 12 PSG ($4.05 billion) $4.8 billion Eredivisie 1 Ajax ($740 million) $740 million Primeira 1 Benfica ($675 million) $675 million Brazilian Serie A1 Flamengo ($570 million) ) $570 million
The combined value of the top 50 football clubs is estimated at $79.6 billion, an increase of 8.7% (+$1.6 billion) compared to last year. But football is still not that “rich”: Sportico writes that the 32 NFL teams are valued at $165 billion and the 30 NBA teams at $120 billion, so there is still huge potential. of growth.
Although it seems that European football has been inflating like a bubble in recent years.
