Which football club is the richest in the world?

macfranc007 February 10, 2018 Nigeria News today & Breaking news ▷ Read Nigerian newspapers 24/7 Samuel Tinibu

Checkout Forbes list 2017 of the most successful and wealthiest football clubs in the world! In the center of this list, is the total cost of each club, as well as their incomes and operative money. Take a look at the top 10 richest football club in the world.

Top 10 richest clubs in the world 2017: Forbes list

Most expensive football clubs in the world

The football business is becoming more expensive. In 2017, the average cost of the team of the twenty most expensive was estimated by Forbes at $1.48 billion, which is 3% more than last year's figure (in euros, growth is even more noticeable — 7%). When compiling the rating, the data of the Deloitte report on the financial performance of clubs in the 2015/16 season were used. More details about the clubs that fall in the top 10 rating by Forbes in 2017 are listed below.

1. Manchester United (England)

The estimated cost of $3.69 billion
Income $765 million
Operating profit of $288 million

For the first time in five years, Manchester United topped the list of the most expensive football clubs, thanks to the international popularity of its brand, the commercial grasp of management and, of course, the financial success of the English Premier League. In the 2015/16 season, United's income was $765 million, which is $77 million more than the nearest pursuers — Real Madrid and Barcelona. $405 million from commercial transactions and $288 million operating profit — also the best performance among football clubs.

And it is especially important that such financial prosperity happened practically without the Champions League: in the 2015/16 season, MU flew out of the tournament at the group stage and missed the next draw. In the 2016/17 season, with the new coach Jose Mourinho, the team did not perform well in the national championship (the 6th place), but won the Europa League and secured a place in the Champions League for the next season. In this scenario, to bypass United in any financial ranking will be extremely difficult.

Let’s not forget about the cost of the players. Did you know, that the Red Devils are paying the highest salary in the BPL (Barclays Premier League)? Their winter newcomer, Alexis Sanchez, is heading the top 10 of highest paid football players. Also, on this list are David De Gea, Paul Pogba, and Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

2. Barcelona (Spain)

Estimated cost of $3.66 billion
Income $688 million
Operating profit of $113 million

Last year, Barcelona signed an outfitting contract with Nike for an annual amount of at least $168 million from 2018 to 2023, overlapping the previous record agreement, Manchester United. In 2014, the same type of contract was signed between MU and Adidas.

3. Real Madrid (Spain)

Estimated cost of $3.58 billion
Income $688 million
Operating profit of $181 million

In May 2017, the German edition of Spiegel, referring to the documents of Football Leaks, published the final details of the 10-year deal (from 2015 to 2024) of Real and Adidas. To the annual guaranteed payment of $75 million is added 22.5% of the sale of branded club equipment (about $32 million). In addition, there are decent bonuses for trophies (for example, $5 million — for the victory in the Champions League).

4. Bayern Munich (Germany)

The estimated cost of $2.71 billion
Income of $657 million
Operating profit of $120 million

In March 2017, Bayern became the first foreign club to open an office in China. The search for new sponsorship and merchandise contracts in the country where the sport is becoming an important national priority is a very promising direction for development. At the same time, traditional for European football income from Bavaria in the order:

$109 million — commercial transactions in the 2015/16 season (equipment, advertising on a game T-shirt, naming stadium, and training base)
$71 million — prize for participation in the Champions League
approximately $166 million the club earned on television

In this Bundesliga season, a new television contract ($1.67 billion a year) had started to operate, and the incomes of the leader of German football will definitely grow.

5. Manchester City (England)

Estimated cost of $2.08 billion
Income $583 million
Operating profit of $162 million

In the 2015/16 season, Manchester City earned $234 million in televised matches, more than any other football club. In addition, City was the leader in income from participation in the Champions League — $93 million.

According to the data, taken from the Soccerex Football Finance study, Manchester City has the most expensive team squad. Also, financial opportunities for Manchester City’ owners are still very high, and it seems to be that they are not really tired of using them.

6. Arsenal (England)

Estimated cost of $1.9 billion
Income of $520 million
Operating profit of $122 million

Owner of Emirates stadium, the popularity of the brand, and the huge Premier League telecommunications allow Arsenal, which has not won in the national championship for more than 10 years, to earn a decent salary, keeping a place in the middle of the top ten of the Forbes rating. However, according to the results of the season 2016/17, the team did not get into the Champions League (for the first time since the late 90's). So they lost an important income opportunity for a year ($59 million — in the 2015/16 season).

7. Chelsea (England)

Estimated cost of $1.85 billion
Income $497 million
Operating profit of $52 million

In the ranking of 2018, Chelsea probably would have to make room — a disastrous 10th place in the championship of England 2015/16 for a year deprived the team of European cups and related incomes. So, in the Champions League 2015/16 Roman Abramovich's club earned $77 million (taking into account the previous four seasons — $281 million). However, the absence of international matches in the calendar 2016/17 allowed Chelsea to concentrate on the Premier League and win the championship title (the second in three years).

8. Liverpool (England)

Estimated cost of $1.49 billion
Income $379 million
Operating profit of $58 million

Fenway Sports Group, which owns Liverpool, spent $140 million to increase the capacity of the Anfield stadium, where the team conducts home matches, for 8,500 seats (now the arena seats 54,000 spectators) and can add another 5,000. This will increase the match revenue for the club.

Despite that Liverpool FC and their fans are waiting for big trophies for a long time, the squad under the direction of Jurgen Klopp shows us an interesting football. Let’s mention, that the income of Liverpool had increased due to their regular participation in the European tournaments. In the season 2015-2016, they reached the final of the European league, and in current season they qualified from the Champions cup group.

9. Juventus (Italy)

Estimated cost of $1.26 billion
Income $379 million
Operating profit of $58 million

For five campaigns in the Champions League (2011/12-2015/16) Juventus earned more than any other team in the tournament — $311 million. Largely due to the fact that other Italian participants were not very successful, and most of the money from the marketing pool which relied on Italy is on the part of Juve. So, in the recently concluded 2016/17 draw, the Turin club earned the most in the Champions League — $117 million (while the winner of the tournament Real Madrid earned only $91 million).

10. Tottenham Hotspur (England)

Estimated cost of $1.06 billion
Income $310 million
Operating profit of $68 million

On May 14, 2017, Tottenham Hotspur played the last match at the White Hart Lane, where it played since the end of the 19th century. The day after the demolition of the stadium began. The new arena of the club worth $1 billion should be ready for the season 2018/19.

As we can see, English teams dominate the list (8 out of 20, 6 in the top 10) thanks to the impressive translation costs of the Premier League. Italy in the ranking is represented by 5 teams out of 20; Spain and Germany — three teams out of 20; France, only by Paris-Saint Germain. An important driver of growth in the 2015/16 season was sponsorship deals: thus, Barcelona earned $233 million in advertising contracts. In addition, the Champions League accumulates huge sums, and the prize money for participation in the tournament is a significant part of the income for the most successful teams.