Real Madrid overtake Manchester United as Europe’s most valuable club, says KPMG

Real Madrid has overtaken Manchester United as the most valuable football club in Europe, according to an annual study of clubs' "enterprise value" by accountancy giants KPMG.

After three years at the top of the podium, Manchester United slipped to second, while Barcelona fell one place to fourth, allowing Bayern Munich to take third.

The top 10 were completed by five other English clubs – Manchester City, Chelsea, Liverpool, Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur – and Italian club Juventus.

Arsenal fell two spots to eighth, as Chelsea and Liverpool advanced, while Tottenham Hotspur overtook Juventus to ninth.

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KPMG produces a valuation range for each of the clubs. At the mid-point of this range, Real Madrid had an enterprise value of €3.224 billion, while Manchester United’s was €3.207 billion.

KPMG said the aggregate enterprise value of the top 32 European clubs had increased 9 per cent year-on-year, suggesting that the business of football was growing “at a significantly faster pace” than Europe’s economy in general.

Real Madrid and Manchester United are the only clubs with an enterprise value above €3 billion, it said.

However, each of the top eight clubs have a value of more than €2 billion, according to KPMG, with Chelsea and Liverpool having joined this group.

Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur will play in the Uefa Champions League final in Madrid on Saturday after a season of unprecedented European success for English clubs. Chelsea and Arsenal will contest the Europa League final in Baku tonight – Uefa's secondary club competition.

Profitability

Manchester United’s enterprise value fell 1 per cent year-on-year, while Real Madrid’s increased 10 per cent, resulting in the change at the top. The Spanish club won the Champions League title three years in a row from 2016 to 2018, boosting its Uefa prize money, while it also improved its profitability thanks to rising commercial revenues.

Both Manchester United and Real Madrid have had disappointing seasons this year, failing to win major trophies.

Inter Milan, in 15th place in KPMG’s rankings, registered the highest year-on-year increase in enterprise value, rising 41 per cent. This was followed by 33 per cent growth for Liverpool and a 31 per cent surge for Spurs.

KPMG also noted that Tottenham Hotspur’s staff costs-to-revenue ratio was the lowest among the 32 clubs.