January 4 – Runaway English Premier League leaders Manchester City have more financial clout than any other club in world football, according to a new study commissioned by global sports event organisers Soccerex.
English clubs dominate the top ten places in the rankings with Arsenal ranked second, Tottenham Hotspur fifth, Manchester United seventh (somewhat surprisingly) and Chelsea in ninth position.
The so-called The Soccerex Football Finance 100 is based on five criteria: value of players, fixed assets, cash reserves, potential owner investment and net debt.
Soccerex said this methodology explained why Arsenal were ranked above Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) despite PSG paying a record €222 million to sign Brazilian superstar Neymar last summer. The study said Arsenal’s “sound business model” had enabled it to pip PSG even though the Londoners had spent far less in the transfer market.
Similarly to PSG, Chelsea were ranked only ninth despite owner Roman Abramovich’s heavy investment. Soccerex said this was because Abramovich’s investment was listed as a loan, giving the club a large net debt.
The ranking also reflects China’s growing significance in the global football market, with Guangzhou Evergrande surprisingly coming above Spanish giants Real Madrid and Barcelona who the study said were affected by their membership owner structures which restricted investment potential.
Nine of the Chinese Super League clubs are ranked in the top 100 clubs, more than France, Germany and Italy.
Soccerex marketing director David Wright said the aim of the study was to highlight how the “global football landscape has shifted over the past two decades”.
“We wanted to create a broader evaluation of football finances, one that reflected the modern reality of football,” he added.
SOCCEREX FOOTBALL FINANCE 100: TOP 20
- Manchester City
- Arsenal
- PSG
- Guangzhou Evergrande
- Tottenham
- Real Madrid
- Manchester United
- Juventus
- Chelsea
- Bayern Munich
- Zenit St Petersburg
- RB Leipzig
- Barcelona
- LA Galaxy
- Atletico Madrid
- Liverpool
- Borussia Dortmund
- Lyon
- Monaco
- Leicester
Contact the writer of this story at moc.l1714119922labto1714119922ofdlr1714119922owedi1714119922sni@w1714119922ahsra1714119922w.wer1714119922dna1714119922