Barcelona topped the Forbes list of the 20 most valuable soccer teams for the first time ever, edging out Real Madrid by a very small margin. According to the latest rankings released by Forbes, Barcelona is valued at $4.76 billion whereas Real Madrid is just behind, valued at $4.75 billion.
In the past 16 years, Real Madrid topped the list 5 times whereas Manchester United did so 11 times.
According to the business magazine, the world’s 20 most valuable soccer teams are worth an average of $2.28 billion individually. This is a massive increase of 30% from two years ago, when the list was last published. However, the average revenue for the 20 teams was $441 million for the 2019-20 season, a reduction of 9.6% from 2017-18, while average operating income fell by 70% over the period to $23 million.
Here is the ranking of the teams according to their valuation:
1. Barcelona
Barcelona, Spain
Owner/Controlling Shareholder: Club members
Value: $4.76 billion
Two-Year Change: 18%
Revenue (2020): $792 million
Operating Income (2020): $62.2 million
2. Real Madrid
Madrid, Spain
Owner/Controlling Shareholder: Club members
Value: $4.75 billion
Two-Year Change: 12%
Revenue (2020): $792 million
Operating Income (2020): $92 million
3. Bayern Munich
Munich, Germany
Owner/Controlling Shareholder: Club members
Value: $4.215 billion
Two-Year Change: 39%
Revenue (2020): $703 million
Operating Income (2020): $49.2 million
4. Manchester United
Manchester, England
Owner/Controlling Shareholder: Glazer family
Value: $4.2 billion
Two-Year Change: 10%
Revenue (2020): $643 million
Operating Income (2020): $166.6 million
5. Liverpool
Liverpool, England
Owner/Controlling Shareholder: John Henry, Tom Werner
Value: $4.1 billion
Two-Year Change: 88%
Revenue (2020): $619 million
Operating Income (2020): $61.9 million
6. Manchester City
Manchester, England
Owner/Controlling Shareholder: Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan
Value: $4 billion
Two-Year Change: 49%
Revenue (2020): $609 million
Operating Income (2020): -$2 million
7. Chelsea
London, England
Owner/Controlling Shareholder: Roman Abramovich
Value: $3.2 billion
Two-Year Change: 24%
Revenue (2020): $520 million
Operating Income (2020): $34.7 million
8. Arsenal
London, England
Owner/Controlling Shareholder: E. Stanley Kroenke
Value: $2.8 billion
Two-Year Change: 23%
Revenue (2020): $430 million
Operating Income (2020): $47.3 million
9. Paris Saint-Germain
Paris, France
Owner/Controlling Shareholder: Qatar Sports Investments
Value: $2.5 billion
Two-Year Change: 129%
Revenue (2020): $599 million
Operating Income (2020): -$4.5 million
10. Tottenham Hotspur
London, England
Owner/Controlling Shareholder: Joseph Lewis, Daniel Levy
Value: $2.3 billion
Two-Year Change: 42%
Revenue (2020): $494 million
Operating Income: $134.2 million
To read more about the most valuable teams, click here.
