Barcelona tops the Forbes list of the worlds’ 20 most valuable soccer teams for the first time, knocking Real Madrid to No. 2.
Barcelona is valued at $4.76 billion, just pushing out Real Madrid at $4.75 billion.
Real Madrid had made the top spot five times and England’s Manchester United 11 times in the past.
According to Forbes, “Barcelona’s rise comes as the club has been caught in a public fight with superstar Lionel Messi, the world’s highest-paid player, who threatened to leave last year before the final season under his contract. The months-long cliffhanger ended with Messi staying put and the team’s president resigning.”
Manchester United have a value of $4.2 billion, with Bayern Munich just ahead of them and Liverpool just behind them in fifth at $4.1 billion. Man United have been in top spot for 11 of the last 16 years, and were in third in the last rankings.
According to the release from Forbes, the value of Liverpool has rocketed in the past two years by 88 percent. That comes after Jurgen Klopp’s side won the UEFA Champions League and then the Premier League in back-to-back seasons.
“The world’s 20 most valuable soccer teams are worth an average of $2.28 billion apiece, an increase of 30% from two years ago, the last time we published the ranking,” Forbes said in a statement.
The jump comes despite a decline in revenue caused by limited attendance during the pandemic, with buyers focused on what they see as still untapped revenue potential in the sport’s massive global following,” the report states.
PSG have the biggest two-year increase in the top 20, at 129 percent, while Dortmund are second on that metric at 112 percent.
Nine of the top 20 clubs are from the Premier League, with three from Spain, four from Italy, two from Germany and one team from France and Holland.
Below is the list of the top 20 in full
1) Barcelona – $4.76 billion
2) Real Madrid – $4.75 billion
3) Bayern Munich – $4.215 billion
4) Manchester United – $4.2 billion
5) Liverpool – $4.1 billion
6) Manchester City – $4 billion
7) Chelsea – $3.2 billion
8) Arsenal – $2.88 billion
9) Paris Saint-Germain – $2.5 billion
10) Tottenham – $2.3 billion
11) Juventus – $2 billion
12) Borussia Dortmund – $1.9 billion
13) Atletico Madrid – $1 billion
14) Inter Milan – $743 million
15) Everton – $658 million
16) AC Milan – $559 million
17) AS Roma – $548 million
18) West Ham – $508 million
19) Leicester – $455 million
20) Ajax – $413 million
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