According to a report by KPMG, the combined enterprise value of the most popular soccer clubs in Europe exceeds $33 billion. The report “Football Clubs’ Valuation: The European Elite 2017” states that the 32 clubs on the list grew by more than 14% in the last year.
English football giants Manchester United lead the list with an enterprise value of more than 3 billion Euros. Second and third on the list fall to Spanish clubs Real Madrid and Barcelona. Amazingly, ten clubs are worth more than a billion euros.
The sport is reaping the benefits of its commercial and television deals:
“While this is partially explained by football’s broadcasting boom, the internationalization of the clubs’ commercial operations, their investment into privately-owned and modern facilities, and overall more sustainable management practices are also key reasons for this growth,” said Andrea Sartori, global head of sports at KPMG
Teams are making smarter choices when it comes to signing commercial sponsorship. It also helps that the English Premier League is a global sport, shown live across the world. This explains why six of the top ten clubs on the list are from the UK. The most recent TV deal awarded in the UK to Sky and BT was worth $6.6 billion.
There are no American clubs on the list, however, with the rapid growth in popularity of the sport, it is only a matter of time before we see an American in the top 10.