SOCCER BUSINESS
The world’s 50 most valuable soccer clubs revealed: Manchester United, Real Madrid, Premier League, MLS…
The ranking, put together by sports business experts Sportico, is dominated by European, Premier League and MLS clubs.
A list of the world’s 50 most valuable soccer clubs has been published by Sportico and provided some fascinating insight about the sport across the globe. The digital platform, which focuses on the sports industry from a business viewpoint, ranked Premier League club Manchester United as number one at $5.95 billion, closely followed by Real Madrid, Barcelona and Bayern Munich. The list highlights a number of trends within soccer, some of which will be more surprising than others.
Only three confederations represented
Clubs from only three confederations - UEFA (Europe), Concacaf (North America, Central America and the Caribbean) and Conmebol (South America) - appear in the ranking, with AFC (Asia), CAF (Africa) and OFC (Oceania) not represented by a single club.
Even amongst those that do feature, European (29) and Concacaf (20) clubs dominate, with only one team from South America making the top 50 (Flamengo from Brazil are all way down in 46th, valued at $540).
More than half of MLS make the top 50
18 of the 50 clubs in the ranking come from MLS, making it the most represented league, well ahead of even the Premier League, which has only nine.
Several of the US-based teams are no more than five years old, including Charlotte FC (40th), FC Cincinnati (44th) and Austin FC (32nd). By contrast, a number of the others on the list have been in existence for well over a century, such as 139-year-old Leicester City (45th) and 145-year-old Everton (34th). The highest ranked MLS club is Los Angeles FC, who are 16th with a value of $900 million.
The remaining 27 spots are filled by clubs from Serie A (seven), LaLiga (four), the Bundesliga (four), Ligue 1 (two), the Primeria Liga in Portugal (two), Liga MX (two), the Eredivise in the Netherlands (one) and, as mentioned, the Brasileirao (one).
South America represented by Flamengo
Flamengo is the only South American team to make the list, with other Brazilian ‘giants’ such as Vasco da Gama, Palmeiras, Fluminense, Corinthians, Grêmio and International all absent. Argentina may be World Cup holders but none of their clubs (not even Boca Juniors or River Plate) are amongst the world’s 50 most valuable, according to the study, which was carried out based on various criteria. All, therefore, are worth less than $525 million.
Two Liga MX clubs make the list
Mexico and Liga MX fare marginally better than the entire continent of South America, with two of its clubs featuring. Club América ($735 million) squeeze in between Roma and Seattle Sounders as the highest valued Mexican club in 21st spot. Not too far behind Las Águilas are Guadalajara in 26th, valued at $695 million.
UEFA/European dominance
It probably won’t come as much of a shock, but the Sportico ranking proves that ‘elite-level’ club soccer is in Europe. The top 15 is made up of only UEFA-member clubs, with LAFC next on the list, just below Champions League semi-finalists Milan and Inter. The Premier League dominates right at the top, with six clubs (Manchester United, Liverpool, Manchester City, Arsenal, Chelsea) inside the top 10.
| Ranking | Club | 2023 Valuation | 2021-22 revenue |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Manchester United | $5.95 billion | $776 million |
| 2 | Real Madir | $5.23 billion | $815 million |
| 3 | Barcelona | $4.95 billion | $710 million |
| 4 | Liverpool | $4.71 billion | $790 million |
| 5 | Bayern Munich | $4.46 billion | $739 million |
| 6 | Manchester City | $4.43 billion | $815 million |
| 7 | Arsenal | $3.6 billion | $491 million |
| 8 | Chelsea | $3.47 billion | $640 million |
| 9 | Paris Saint-Germain | $3.41 billion | $757 million |
| 10 | Tottenham Hotspur | $3.19 billion | $590 million |
| 11 | Juventus | $1.73 billion | $453 million |
| 12 | Borussia Dortmund | $1.61 billion | $403 million |
| 13 | Atlético Madrid | $1.56 billion | $470 million |
| 14 | Milan | $1.2 billion | $299 million |
| 15 | Inter | $1.11 billion | $348 million |
| 16 | LAFC | $900 million | $100 million |
| 17 | LA Galaxy | $865 million | $98 million |
| 18 | Atlanta United | $855 million | $103 million |
| 19 | Lyon | $825 million | $181 million |
| 20 | Roma | $765 million | $216 million |
| 21 | Club América | $735 million | $125 million |
| 22 | Seattle Sounders | $725 million | $66 million |
| 23 | Ajax | $710 million | $214 million |
| 24 | Toronto FC | $705 million | $64 million |
| 25 | DC United | $700 million | $59 million |
| 26 | Guadalajara | $695 million | $120 million |
| 27 | New York City FC | $690 million | $55 million |
| 28 | Napoli | $690 million | $173 million |
| 29 | Portland Timbers | $685 million | $65 million |
| 30 | West Ham | $665 million | $336 million |
| 31 | Benfica | $640 million | $222 million |
| 32 | Austin FC | $630 million | $78 million |
| 33 | RB Leipzig | $610 million | $292 million |
| 34 | Everton | $600 million | $600 million |
| 35 | Porto | $590 million | $163 million |
| 36 | Atalanta | $585 million | $191 million |
| 37 | Inter Miami | $585 million | $54 million |
| 38 | Sporting Kansas City | $575 million | $60 million |
| 39 | Eintracht Frankfurt | $575 million | $238 million |
| 40 | Charlotte FC | $570 million | $71 million |
| 41 | Minnesota United | $565 million | $54 million |
| 42 | Colombus Crew | $560 million | $55 million |
| 43 | Philadelphia Union | $555 million | $48 million |
| 44 | FC Cincinnati | $550 million | $65 million |
| 45 | Leicester City | $545 million | $545 million |
| 46 | Flamengo | $540 million | $205 million |
| 47 | Chicago Fire | $535 million | $32 million |
| 48 | Sevilla | $535 million | $210 million |
| 49 | Lazio | $530 million | $153 million |
| 50 | New York Red Bulls | $525 million | $50 million |