Sportico has revealed its most recent valuations, and following a $414 million FSG boost, Liverpool is now only behind Barcelona, Real Madrid, and Manchester United in the rankings.
Liverpool owner John W. Henry. (Image: Photo by HENRY NICHOLLS/AFP via Getty Images)
According to Sportico’s annual report on the biggest football teams in the world, Liverpool’s owners, FSG, have witnessed a notable increase in the club’s valuation over the past year, amounting to £330 million ($414 million). The Reds are currently ranked fourth in the world, behind Manchester United, Barcelona, and Real Madrid.
Liverpool is valued at $5.11 billion (£4.1 billion) according to the Sportico report, 8.8% more than the previous year. Nevertheless, even with their lack of recent competitive success, this amount is still $1.08 billion (£860 million) less than Manchester United’s valuation.
Manchester City, which is ranked sixth, is another team in the top 10. Their valuation is $4.75 billion (£3.80 billion), even though they are the team on the list with the highest revenues and a treble last year. In eighth, ninth, and tenth place, respectively, are Arsenal ($3.92 billion/£3.13 billion), Tottenham Hotspur ($3.5 billion/£2.79 billion), and Chelsea ($3.49 billion/£2.78 billion).
The methodology used by Sportico for valuation considers a number of variables, such as past sales, market size and interest, brand strength, on-field performance, lease terms, debt load, extra responsibilities, and anticipated future economic growth. The notable decline of $1.71 billion (£1.36 billion) to Juventus after the top 10 shows how much wealth separates the top 10 teams from the rest.
Twenty American Major League teams—11 more than those in the Premier League—were included in the top 50 list. This is because of the structure of the North American sports ecosystem, which, even though Premier League teams make far more money than them, lacks relegation or promotion concerns, has stronger cost controls due to things like salary caps, and promotes greater ownership group collaboration.
In October 2010, the Reds were purchased by Liverpool’s owners, Fenway Sports Group, for approximately £300 million ($376 million). By applying the Sportico methodology to compare that valuation to the current one, FSG has witnessed a 1,266 percent increase in the value of its initial investment of £3.8 billion ($4.76 billion) over the course of nearly 14 years of ownership.
After accounting for inflation, the initial purchase price would be approximately £446 million ($559 million), demonstrating the enormous global value increase in the Premier League product, which is mostly due to the thriving domestic and international media rights market.
