Have you ever wondered about the wealth of football clubs? If you have done a bit of research on this subject before, you would know that Real Madrid was once known as the wealthiest football club in the world. Things change however, as does team dynamics and acquisitions, and they no longer hold this spot.
In this article we take a look at the latest rankings of the world’s wealthiest football clubs in Europe. Let’s jump right in.
#1: Manchester United
Coming in at first place we have Manchester United. The club’s riches currently stand at €3.25 billion bringing them to the spot of the wealthiest club in Europe for the second year in a row.
#2: Real Madrid
Close on Manchester’s heels is La Liga’s Real Madrid. Even though the club has been the wealthiest for a couple of consecutive years in the past, they are currently the second wealthiest with €2.92 billion.
#3: FC Barcelona
Third on the KPMGs list of the wealthiest football clubs in Europe we have FC Barcelona. They come in close with Real Madrid with a calculated value figure of €2.78 billion.
#4: Bayern Munich
The Bundesliga champions, Bayern Munich comes in fourth place on our list. The club is currently worth an estimated €2.55 billion. They are not far behind in value to FC Barcelona.
#5: Arsenal
Next up, we have Arsenal. Even though Manchester City beat Arsenal to fifth spot with an impressive €2.15 billion, Arsenal’s total estimated value currently stands at €2.1 billion.
#6: Chelsea
And last but not least, we have Chelsea. Chelsea is also featured in sixth place on the official KPMG list, with an astonishing value of €1.76 billion.
These numbers may shock or surprise you. Keep in mind however that the audit considered multiple factors when they made their calculations. Things considered included the finances of each club, the popularity of each club on different channels, as well as their success rate.
Other factors also looked at included were each club’s enterprise value as well as a projected cost of each club should it be bought. These are interesting figures, and gives us a glimpse into the politics and finances behind European football.