by Aran Ali
In the world of football, the stakes are rising due to the amount of dollars injected into the game. In light of the rapid rise and fall of the European Super League (ESL), this graphic covers the top 10 football clubs by market value.
Today, the top 10 clubs are collectively worth $36 billion and bring in over $6 billion in annual revenues.
| Football Club | Market Value ($M) | Revenue ($M) |
|---|---|---|
| Barcelona | $4,760 | $792 |
| Real Madrid | $4,750 | $792 |
| Bayern Munich | $4,220 | $703 |
| Manchester United | $4,200 | $643 |
| Liverpool | $4,100 | $619 |
| Manchester City | $4,000 | $609 |
| Chelsea | $3,200 | $520 |
| Arsenal | $2,800 | $430 |
| PSG | $2,500 | $599 |
| Tottenham | $2,300 | $494 |
Football clubs have witnessed more money being thrown into the game, partly because of the licensing and streaming deals behind the curtain. Big entities have entered the space like Amazon, Disney through ESPN, and DAZN, which has been regarded as the Netflix of sport.
From an audience standpoint, business interest in the sport is justified. In the last World Cup final, 517 million tuned in, compared to 160 million for the Super Bowl during the same year.
More Money in the Game
It’s not just the clubs that are seeing more money trickle down. Both fees for agents and player transfers have soared. From 2014 to 2019, agent fees grew from $241 million to $653 million. Similarly, transfer fees grew from $2.6 billion to $7.3 billion between 2012-2019.
| Year | Player Transfer Fees ($M) | Agent Fees ($M) |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 | $7,350 | $653 |
| 2018 | $6,940 | $548 |
| 2017 | $6,290 | $447 |
| 2016 | $4,720 | $387 |
| 2015 | $4,130 | $297 |
| 2014 | $4,020 | $241 |
The COVID-19 Impact
Like any sport, football has suffered from the lack of social gatherings for the better part of a year. Matchday revenues, which represent sales generated in the stadium, have dried up. Prior to the pandemic, the top 10 clubs generated approximately 20% of their sales from matchday.
Fortunately, it appears supporters will be re-gathering sooner rather than later, Wembley Stadium welcomed 8,000 fans in a recent showdown between Manchester City and Tottenham on April 25th.
Where does this data come from?
Source: Forbes
Notes: Football clubs data is as of 2020
Culled from Visual Capitalist
