Escalating payouts from television agreements, shirt and kit deals, sponsors, and the Champions League are continuing to fuel higher values for the world’s top soccer teams. As a result, investors who feasted on soccer teams during the past decade or so are now looking very smart–especially those who bought English teams.
UEFA increased the Champions League payout by roughly 50% for the three cycle beginning with 2015-16. Spain’s Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid, who will play at San Siro in Milan in this year’s final, will earn each earn over $100 million from their Champions League participation.
| Top Champions League Distributions 2014-15 | |
| (April 20, 2016 exchange rate) | |
| Team | Payment |
| 1. Juventus | $101 mil |
| 2. Barcelona | $69 mil |
| 3. Paris Saint-Germian | $64 mil |
| 4. Real Madrid | $59 mil |
| 5. AS Monaco | $59 mil |
| 6. Bayern Munich | $57 mil |
| 7. AS Roma | $52 mil |
| 8. Manchester City | $52 mil |
| 9. Atletico Madrid | $50 mil |
| 10. Chelsea | $44 mil |
The 20 most valuable soccer teams in the world are worth an average of $1.44 billion, 24% more than the top 20 teams were worth a year ago. Credit richer television deals, like the three-year, $7.9 billion agreement between the English Premier League with Sky Sports and BTSport that starts with the 2016-17 season, and more lucrative uniform deals, the prime example being the $130 million a year arrangement between Manchester United and Adidas.
The most valuable team for the fourth consecutive year is Real Madrid, which is taking on Atletico Madrid in this year’s Champions League final. Real Madrid has generated more revenue than any soccer team for 11 straight seasons. Real is worth $3.65 billion, 12% more than last year and more than any sports team in the world not named the Dallas Cowboys ($4 billion).
| Most Valuable Sports Teams | |
| Team | Value |
| 1. Dallas Cowboys | $4 bil |
| 2. Real Madrid | $3.65 bil |
| 3. Barcelona | $3.55 bil |
| 4. New York Yankees | $3.4 bil |
| 5. Manchester United | $3.32 bil |
Nipping at Real’s heels are Barcelona, worth $3.55 billion, also 12% higher than a year ago. Barcelona may soon overtake their Spanish rival because of a $400 million remaking of its home grounds, Camp Nou, which is expected to be completed in about five years.
The third most valuable soccer team is Manchester United, which are publicly traded. The listed shares had an enterprise value of around $3 billion at the time I was wrapping up my list. But I reckon there’s a discount built into the price given the Glazer family’scontrolling interest. I peg the value of the Red Devils at $3.32 billion, 7% more than last year. With operating income of $190 million during the 2014-15 season, Manchester United is the most profitable team on our list, but sits behind the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys ($270 million) and New England Patriots ($195 million) in profitability among all sports teams.
