Spanish LaLiga giant Real Madrid has replaced English Premier League team Manchester United as the most valuable football club in Europe, according to a new report by professional services firm KPMG.
The company’s fourth annual club valuation report ranks the 32 most prominent clubs on the continent according to their Enterprise Value (EV) as of January 1, 2019. The overall EV of the 32 clubs on the list has risen by nine per cent, marking the third consecutive year that this has increased.
According to the report, Real Madrid has a value of €3.22bn ($3.59bn), with United just behind with a value of €3.21bn. Real’s LaLiga rival Barcelona has slipped to fourth in the list, with German Bundesliga club Bayern Munich moving up to third.
Real Madrid won the Uefa Champions League in 2017 and 2018, which helped the club achieve a 10-per-cent annual increase in its EV. KPMG noted that United and Barcelona suffered an annual decrease in their EV of one per cent and four per cent, respectively.
KPMG added that Real’s “outstanding” international sporting performance has allowed it to register almost double the commercial revenue growth of United over the last four seasons. Real benefited from a cumulated 29-per-cent operating revenue growth from 2016 to 2019, slightly higher than United.
KPMG also pointed out that the devaluation of the pound in recent years has negatively affected the value of all English clubs.
Elsewhere in the top 10, Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur has moved above Italian Serie A champion Juventus into ninth place. Tottenham’s North London rival Arsenal has slipped two places to eighth, below Chelsea and Liverpool.
Manchester City was the only club in the top 10 to retain its position, with the back-to-back Premier League champion staying in fifth place.
Scottish Premiership club Celtic has also joined the list for the first time, along with LaLiga team Villarreal. Fellow LaLiga club Valencia has slipped off the list, as has Turkish Süper Lig outfit Fenerbahçe.
Real Madrid shared the top spot with Manchester United during the first edition of KPMG’s report, before United sat first on its own for the following two seasons. This marks the first time Real has placed outright first on the list.
