Escalating payouts from TV agreements, shirt and kit deals, sponsors, and the Champions League "are continuing to fuel higher values" for the world’s top football teams, according to Mike Ozanian of FORBES. As a result, "investors who feasted" on football teams during the past decade or so "are now looking very smart -- especially those who bought English teams." UEFA increased the Champions League payout by "roughly 50%" for the three-year cycle beginning with '15-16. This year’s final, to be played at San Siro, between Spain’s Real Madrid and Atlético Madrid, will earn each team over $100M. The 20 most valuable football teams in the world are worth an average of $1.44B, 24% more than the top 20 teams were worth a year ago. The "most valuable team for the fourth consecutive year is Real Madrid." The club has generated more revenue than any football team for 11 straight seasons. Real is worth $3.65B, 12% more than last year and "more than any sports team in the world not named" the NFL Dallas Cowboys ($4B). Barcelona, worth $3.55B -- also 12% higher than a year ago -- is "nipping" at Real's heels. The Premier League’s "large advantage" in TV money "explains why eight of the top 20" most valuable football teams are English, as well as five of the top 10. Even in the U.S., where the Premier League and Bundesliga have deals with NBC Sports and Fox Sports, respectively, TV ratings "have been solid for the English side and weak for the Germans." Still, the German league’s next domestic TV deal, "currently being negotiated, should be at least 30% higher" than its current agreement. Meanwhile, as revenue "has increased significantly for these teams, those who invested in them have made a bundle -- at least on paper." In '03, Roman Abramovich paid $233M for Chelsea. The club is reportedly worth around $1.7B today. The Glazer family gained control of ManU in '05 at a $1.47B valuation. The publicly traded team now has an enterprise value of $3.3B (FORBES, 5/11).
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Source: FORBES
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