New valuations revealed that the 20 clubs starting this season’s Premier League "are worth a combined" £8.4B ($13B), according to Nick Harris of the London DAILY MAIL. That represents a 460% growth "in the worth of the top-flight clubs in the 16 years since Richard Scudamore became chief executive." They were collectively worth about £1.5B in '99, with ManU "by far the most valuable" at £623M. Football finance expert Tom Markham, "who has worked for club buyers
and sellers and uses a formula based on income, assets and profitability
to assess worth," said that ManU is now worth more than £1.8B ($2.7B). Arsenal is the second most valuable at £1.1B ($1.7B), then Man City (£907M) ($1.4B), Chelsea (£826M) ($1.2B) and Tottenham (£710M) ($1.1B). Even Bournemouth, in its first season in the Premier League, is worth £104M ($161M). Markham said, "Simply becoming a member of this division adds £60M ($93M)-plus at a stroke to a club’s value. And when the cash from the next television deals arrives in 2016-17, every club will increase in value again by tens of millions" (DAILY MAIL, 8/9).
