Story by The Athletic
Manchester United have been named the world’s most valuable football club, with 20 Major League Soccer (MLS) teams in the global top 50 list.
In figures compiled by Sportico, United are valued at $6.2billion (£4.96bn), with Real Madrid ($6.06bn), Barcelona ($5.28bn), Liverpool ($5.11bn) and Bayern Munich ($4.8bn) completing the top five.
Los Angeles FC ($1.15bn) are the highest-ranked MLS club at 15th, with Atlanta United, Inter Miami, LA Galaxy and New York City FC all in the top 20.
The Premier League is the second-most represented league on the list with nine clubs in the top 50; however, their cumulative valuation of $29bn is almost double that of the 20 MLS clubs ($15.1bn).
La Liga clubs have the third highest league cumulative total at $13bn; but are represented by just three clubs (Real Madrid, Barcelona and Atletico Madrid) on the list.
Serie A have six clubs on the list but none in the top 10, with Juventus (11th, $1.77bn), Milan (14th, $1.2bn) and Inter (16th, $1.06bn) leading the valuations of Italian clubs.
However, the four represented clubs of the German Bundesliga ($7.6bn) eclipses the Serie A valuation ($6.1bn), with Ligue 1 ($4.8bn) ranking fifth among the European league clubs represented.
The top 50 also includes three Liga MX clubs (America, Guadalajara and Monterrey), alongside one club from the Dutch Eredivisie (Ajax), Portuguese Primeira Liga (Benfica) and Brazilian Serie A (Flamengo).
The Sportico model of club valuation is similar to the Forbes football rich list, which also monitors and calculates the total values of football clubs. Real Madrid were named the world’s most valuable club ahead of Manchester United in Forbes’ latest list, which was published in May 2023
Sportico calculate revenue streams based on figures published by club accounts.
Revenue figures are broken down into three categories: broadcast, commercial and matchday.
Broadcast is comprised of both domestic and international media deals along with competition prize money.
Commercial revenue is based on income from sponsorships, advertising, corporate hospitality, catering and non-matchday events, with kit and stadium sponsorship agreements helping to boost these figures.
Additionally, Sportico say they use “team-specific multipliers” which they describe as being “based on multiple factors, including: historical sales, market (size, saturation and interest by prospective owners), strength of brand, on-field performance (historical and recent), terms of facility lease, debt burden and additional obligations, as well as expected future team and league economics.” This also includes external factors, including whether clubs can be relegated.
Why are MLS clubs so valuable?
Revenues in MLS are low, clubs rarely turn a profit and they are unable to tap into UEFA’s money on offer in European competition. So why do its clubs feature so prominently on the list?
Sportico say that valuations of MLS clubs are boosted by factors such as “cost controls, modern stadiums and a single-entity structure that fosters ownership collaboration.”
The absence of relegation from MLS also adds stability to MLS valuations and increases the floor of income levels.
The league’s valuation has also been boosted by a 10-year broadcast deal with Apple, and a series of high-profile player arrivals including Lionel Messi at Inter Miami that has boosted its global profile, while the U.S. will also be among the host nations for the 2026 World Cup.
