The insane sums raised by European soccer competitions go a long way in explaining why Real Madrid, worth $5.1 billion (a 7% increase from 2023), is back at the top of the rankings.
After winning their 35th national title this season, Real Madrid are the top-grossing team in La Liga. In addition, thanks to the qualification in the final of the Champions League (which took place on Saturday 28 May at the Stade de France against Liverpool), the Merengue club earned more than 100 million dollars. Additionally, it was announced last week that Real Madrid, whose stadium renovations are currently costing $850 million, received $379 million for the Sixth Street and Legends deal. Under this agreement, Sixth Street gets the right to participate in the operation of certain new businesses at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium for 20 years. » To finance its new stadium, Casa Blanca borrowed an additional $236 million from JP Morgan and Bank of America in November 2021, bringing the club's total borrowing from banks to $842 million. Find out how professional football mobilizes for employment in this source - https://www.la-croix.com/Actualite/Sport/Le-football-professionnel-se-mobilise-pour-l-emploi-2014-10-21-1224652.
Real Madrid, who last topped the ranking in 2019 (Forbes did not publish a ranking of soccer teams in 2020), tops the ranking for the sixth time (Manchester United is the club that has been ranked first the most times, having finished first on 11 occasions).
As for stadiums, FC Barcelona
Acting more aggressively, spending 1.6 billion dollars to build the largest football stadium in Europe. To fund this, the club signed a multi-year, $458 million deal with Spotify for shirt and stadium sponsorship. The Blaugranas are also reported to be close to reaching a $960 million deal with Goldman Sachs and All Sport Finance in exchange for 30% of future revenues from the club's new sports complex. With an estimate of $5 billion, or 6% more than in 2021, FC Barcelona ranks second in the ranking.
Manchester United completes the podium, its valuation increased by 10% and reached 4.6 billion dollars. The Red Devils have the most fans of any English team, with an operating income of $128 million in 2020-21. In addition, with a profit of 128 million dollars, Manchester United became the second most profitable club in this ranking. However, the Mancunians were knocked out in the last 16 of the Champions League this year and a sixth-placed finish in the Premier League this season will rule them out of next season's prestigious competition.
Even with no fans in the stadium due to covid, the average value of the 20 most expensive football clubs in 2020-2021 increased by 10% compared to the previous year to reach $2.53 billion. In addition, the clubs are financially more muscular. Operating income (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) is $860 million on revenue of $9.68 billion. The ratio between the average debt and the assessment of the club is 9%.
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