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Real Madrid is the second team—from any sport—to cross $1 billion in revenue, cementing its place atop a table of 30 clubs collectively worth $72 billion.
The coronation is beginning to feel routine: For the fourth year in a row, and the ninth time in the past 12 editions of Forbes’ ranking, Spain’s Real Madrid is the world’s most valuable soccer team, worth $6.75 billion—a 2% increase over 2024. This time, however, the club has a new jewel in its crown.
During the 2023-24 season, Los Blancos posted $1.13 billion in revenue, becoming the first soccer team to hit the ten-figure threshold in a single year. In fact, only one other team in any sport has crossed the $1 billion revenue barrier: the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys, who first did so in 2021 and subsequently climbed to $1.2 billion in 2023, according to Forbes estimates. Manchester City of England’s Premier League, with $901 million in revenue in 2023-24, is the closest any other soccer team has come.
But it is the other team from Manchester—Manchester United—that is nearest to Real Madrid with its valuation, at $6.6 billion, maintaining its lead on another Spanish powerhouse, Barcelona, which sits third in the financial standings at $5.65 billion.
Together, the 30 most valuable soccer teams are worth more than $72 billion, or an average of $2.4 billion, up 5% from 2024’s record $2.26 billion. The list includes 12 teams from the Premier League, four from Italy’s Serie A, three from Spain’s La Liga, two from Germany’s Bundesliga and one from France’s Ligue 1. There are also eight teams from Major League Soccer, although none rank higher than No. 15 LAFC, at $1.25 billion.
European clubs benefit from continental competitions that offer hefty payouts tied to how far teams advance. For instance, Real Madrid’s money-making machine got a boost last year from the club’s run to the UEFA Champions League title, which came with $154 million in prize money. The Europa League purse is not as lofty, but 2024 champion Atalanta still earned roughly $38 million—good news for Manchester United, which sank to 16th in the Premier League standings this season but managed to advance to the continental tournament final.
The Red Devils also benefit, of course, from one of the strongest brands in all of sports and a massive global fan base, built over two decades of dominance in the 1990s and 2000s. Likewise, Real Madrid has international appeal—and lucrative commercial partnerships to match—and just as important, the club recently completed a renovation of its Santiago Bernabéu Stadium for a reported $1.9 billion, which should turbocharge its match-day revenue, including ticket sales.
But while Real Madrid’s revenue total is similar to the Cowboys’, the club’s valuation trails Dallas’ $10.1 billion by more than $3 billion. The discrepancy is a function of the leagues’ differing revenue multiples, reflecting the enthusiasm of sports investors and the prospects of future revenue growth. Forbes’ most recent NFL valuations, published in September, carried an average multiple of 9 times revenue—and the NBA was even higher, at 11.7x. By contrast, the 22 European soccer clubs valued by Forbes are worth an average of $2.9 billion on revenue of $570 million, for a multiple of 5.1.
Different teams, countries and leagues across Europe have their own specific challenges, including significant debt, restrictive ownership requirements, underwhelming rises (or even declines) in media rights fees, and bureaucratic red tape that makes stadium improvements difficult. In addition, across the entire continent, there is no salary cap to keep spending in check, teams must live in fear of relegation if they have a down season, and the sports culture generally tends to be resistant to the monetization of clubs, with fans frequently protesting ticket price increases. In December, for example, supporters of the Premier League’s Liverpool, Everton, Manchester United and Manchester City joined forces in demonstrations against price hikes, and Liverpool and City later announced that they would freeze costs for next season.
The multiples in MLS, where the average team is valued at 9.3 times revenue, suggest more optimism and explain why the LA Galaxy, at $1 billion, are worth $100 million more than Aston Villa of the Premier League despite recording less than a third as much revenue last season ($95 million vs. $343 million).
Still, even if the growth is slower than in some North American leagues, European teams continue to appreciate. Leading the way year-over-year are the Premier League’s Arsenal and Newcastle United, which saw their revenue spike and are up 31% and 38% from 2024’s list of the most valuable teams, respectively, to $3.4 billion and $1.1 billion.
All teams will hope to get a boost from the expanded Club World Cup, which kicks off next month in the United States, and 2026’s FIFA World Cup, which is also set to be played on North American soil and should drive broad interest in soccer. Among individual clubs, Inter Milan and Paris Saint-Germain could be in line for a jump next year—whichever team wins Saturday’s Champions League final will pocket an extra $28 million.
Meanwhile, Barcelona is following in Real Madrid’s footsteps with a renovation of its Camp Nou stadium that is expected to be completed by next summer. The upgrade could help it similarly threaten the $1 billion revenue barrier.
On the field and off, El Clásico may be soccer’s fiercest rivalry.
The World’s Most Valuable Soccer Teams
#1. $6.75 billion
One-Year Change: 2% | League: Spanish La Liga | Owners: Club members | Revenue: $1.129 billion
Maria Gracia Jimenez/Soccrates/Getty Images
#2. $6.6 billion
One-Year Change: 1% | League: English Premier League | Owners: Glazer family, Jim Ratcliffe | Revenue: $834 million
Alex Dodd/CameraSport/Getty Images
#3. $5.65 billion
One-Year Change: 1% | League: Spanish La Liga | Owners: Club members | Revenue: $821 million
Stefan Matzke/sampics/Getty Images
#4. $5.4 billion
One-Year Change: 1% | League: English Premier League | Owners: John Henry, Tom Werner | Revenue: $773 million
#5. $5.3 billion
One-Year Change: 4% | League: English Premier League | Owner: Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan | Revenue: $901 million
#6. $5.1 billion
One-Year Change: 2% | League: German Bundesliga | Owners: Club members | Revenue: $827 million
Image Photo Agency/Getty Images
#7. $4.6 billion
One-Year Change: 5% | League: French Ligue 1 | Owner: Qatar Sports Investments | Revenue: $870 million
Aurelien Meunier/PSG/Getty Images
#8. $3.4 billion
One-Year Change: 31% | League: English Premier League | Owner: Stanley Kroenke | Revenue: $771 million
#9. $3.3 billion
One-Year Change: 3% | League: English Premier League | Owners: Joseph Lewis Family Trust, Daniel Levy | Revenue: $666 million
#10. $3.25 billion
One-Year Change: 4% | League: English Premier League | Owners: Todd Boehly, Clearlake Capital | Revenue: $591 million
#11. $2.15 billion
One-Year Change: 5% | League: Italian Serie A | Owner: Agnelli family | Revenue: $389 million
Nicolò Campo/LightRocket/Getty Images
#12. $2.05 billion
One-Year Change: 4% | League: German Bundesliga | Owners: Bernd Geske, Evonik Industries | Revenue: $555 million
#13. $1.7 billion
One-Year Change: 6% | League: Spanish La Liga | Owners: Miguel Gil, Enrique Cerezo, Ares Management, Idan Ofer | Revenue: $442 million
#14. $1.5 billion
One-Year Change: 5% | League: Italian Serie A | Owner: RedBird Capital Partners | Revenue: $433 million
#15. $1.25 billion
One-Year Change: 4% | League: MLS | Owners: Bennett Rosenthal, Brandon Beck, Larry Berg, Peter Guber | Revenue: $150 million
Jeff Dean/Getty Images
#16. $1.2 billion
One-Year Change: 17% | League: MLS | Owners: Jorge Mas, Jose Mas, David Beckham | Revenue: $180 million
#17. $1.15 billion
One-Year Change: 15% | League: Italian Serie A | Owner: Oaktree Capital Management | Revenue: $430 million
#18. $1.125 billion
One-Year Change: 2% | League: English Premier League | Owners: David Sullivan, 1890s Holdings, David Gold Family Trust | Revenue: $349 million
#19. $1.1 billion
One-Year Change: 38% | League: English Premier League | Owner: Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund | Revenue: $403 million
George Wood/Getty Images
#20. $1 billion
One-Year Change: 5% | League: MLS | Owner: Philip Anschutz | Revenue: $95 million
#21. $975 million
One-Year Change: 8% | League: MLS | Owner: Arthur Blank | Revenue: $105 million
#22. $900 million
One-Year Change: 13% | League: English Premier League | Owners: Wes Edens, Nassef Sawiris | Revenue: $343 million
Cameron Smith/Danehouse/Getty Images
#23. $875 million
One-Year Change: 3% | League: MLS | Owners: Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Steinbrenner family | Revenue: $78 million
#24. $860 million
One-Year Change: 18% | League: English Premier League | Owner: Tony Bloom | Revenue: $280 million
#25. $850 million
One-Year Change: 8% | League: English Premier League | Owner: Shad Khan | Revenue: $229 million
#26. $825 million
One-Year Change: 10% | League: MLS | Owners: Anthony Precourt, Eddie Margain | Revenue: $90 million
#27. $810 million
One-Year Change: not ranked in 2024 | League: Italian Serie A | Owner: Friedkin Group | Revenue: $273 million
Giuseppe Maffia/NurPhoto/Getty Images
#28. $800 million
One-Year Change: 2% | League: MLS | Owner: Adrian Hanauer | Revenue: $83 million
#29. $790 million
One-Year Change: 1% | League: English Premier League | Owners: Eagle Football, Josh Harris, David Blitzer, Steve Parish | Revenue: $221 million
#30. $785 million
One-Year Change: 1% | League: MLS | Owners: Jason Levien, Steven Kaplan | Revenue: $90 million
METHODOLOGY
Forbes’ team valuations are enterprise values (equity plus net debt) based on historical transactions and the future economics of each league and each team. For teams based in Europe, revenue and operating income (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) reflect the 2023-24 season and are rounded to the nearest $1 million. For U.S. clubs, figures reflect the 2024 regular season and are taken from Forbes’ annual MLS team valuations, published in February.
The team values include the economics of each team’s stadium but not the value of the stadium real estate itself. Equity stakes in other sports-related assets and mixed-use real estate projects are also excluded.
Forbes excludes player trading and disposals of player registrations from its operating income and revenue tabulations. Debt is measured in terms of interest-bearing borrowings due in more than one year (including stadium debt). Because enterprise value is a capital-structure-neutral metric, it allows Forbes to compare teams with different debt and equity structures.
Where necessary, revenue and operating income numbers are converted to U.S. dollars based on the average exchange rate during the season (€1 = $1.08, £1 = $1.26, £1 = €1.16).
The information used to compile Forbes’ valuations came from teams’ annual reports and documents, team executives, soccer team investors, credit rating agency reports and sports bankers, as well as the annual Deloitte Football Money League report and the soccer finance reporter known as Swiss Ramble.
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