is not just a game, but a whole industry that generates billions of dollars in revenue. The most valuable football clubs in the world are real brands, recognizable in every corner of the planet. Behind these teams are huge financial resources that allow them to attract the best players and coaches, build modern stadiums, and develop infrastructure. These clubs are valued not only for their sporting achievements but also as successful commercial enterprises.
Prestigious football teams boast an army of many millions of fans around the world, making them incredibly attractive to sponsors and investors. That is why the value of leading clubs is in the billions of dollars, and deals on their sale become world events.
Leaders of the world football market
According to the authoritative publication Forbes, the leader in the cost of football clubs in the world is the Spanish Grand “Real Madrid”. The estimated value of this legendary team in 2023 is 6.6 billion dollars. “Real” not only achieves outstanding sports results but is also one of the most successful commercial projects in world sports. For example, last season the team was able to earn more than 830 million euros.
The second place is occupied by the English Manchester United with an estimated value of 6.55 billion dollars. This club, known for its rich history and millions of fans around the world, recently attracted the attention of the famous British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe, who bought 27.7% of the team’s shares, as well as through partnership with Parimatch app and cricketbettingapps.com.in a number of other bookmakers. Moreover, the brand manages to make money despite the failure of the team’s game.
Another Spanish giant – “Barcelona” with a value of 5.6 billion dollars closes the top three. Despite the financial difficulties of recent years, this club remains one of the most recognizable brands in the world of sports. Well, bookmakers still predict victories of the club from Catalonia even in matches with the strongest rivals. Users of the, who like to bet on European football tournaments, can be convinced of this.
The English Premier League is a stronghold of football billionaires
It is important to note that the top ten most valuable football clubs include 6 representatives of the English Premier League. In addition to Manchester United, the elite list includes Liverpool ($ 5.37 billion), Manchester City ($ 5.1 billion), Tottenham ($ 3.2 billion), Chelsea ($ 3.1 billion) and Arsenal ($ 2.6 billion).
The secret to the success of English clubs lies in the incredibly lucrative television contracts that have been negotiated by the Premier League. Under the new agreement for the period from 2025 to 2029, the league will receive more than $2 billion annually just for domestic broadcasting rights. This amount is almost double the similar contracts of other leading European championships.
Commercial success of the leading clubs
In addition to television contracts, the world’s leading football clubs earn huge amounts of money through sponsorship deals and the sale of paraphernalia. Thus, “Real Madrid” annually receives about 205 million dollars only from the sale of advertising rights on the team’s uniforms. A little less earns Barcelona (189 million dollars), Paris Saint-Germain (158 million dollars), Arsenal (158 million dollars) and other grants.
Advertising revenues are growing rapidly for English clubs that have signed new lucrative agreements with partners. For example, “Newcastle” signed a three-year contract with the company Sela worth about 90 million dollars, which is four times more than the previous sponsorship agreement of the team.