Manchester United have been revealed as the most valuable football club in Europe.
The club have an Enterprise Value (EV) of £2.7bn – more than any other club on the continent.
That’s according to the latest KPMG Football Clubs’ Valuation report which uses EV to fairly compare what clubs are worth regardless of the structure used to finance their operations.
It also does not consider the business and sporting results achieved by each club in the 2016/17 football season.
It works out as a seven per cent increase in EV for the Red Devils and puts them ahead of Real Madrid who have the next largest EV of £2.6bn
Barcelona are in third with an EV of £2.41bn, Bayern Munich are in fourth with an EV of £2.13bn and Manchester City are in fifth with an of £1.73bn
Six of the top 10 most valuable clubs in the report are from the Premier League, with Arsenal in sixth, Chelsea in seventh, Liverpool in eighth and Tottenham in 10th.
The report also found that the EV of Europe’s 32 leading clubs now stands at a massive £26.09bn, a 14% increase.
Club Mid-point EV (£bn)
1 Manchester United 2.7
2 Real Madrid 2.6
3 Barcelona 2.41
4 Bayern Munich 2.13
5 Manchester City 1.73
6 Arsenal 1.71
7 Chelsea 1.40
8 Liverpool 1.16
9 Juventus 1.06
10 Tottenham 0.88
Andrea Sartori, KPMG’s Global Head of Sports and the report’s author, commented: “The aggregate value of Europe’s 32 leading football clubs suggests that the overall value of football, as an industry, has grown.
“While this is partially explained by football’s broadcasting boom, the internationalisation of the clubs’ commercial operations, their investment into privately-owned and modern facilities, and overall more sustainable management practices, are also key reasons for this growth.
“In terms of media rights value, the English Premier League sits comfortably at the top of European leagues, although other major leagues have outlined well-defined strategies to compete for the attention of global fans.
“However, unlike other factors, an individual club’s ability to influence their broadcasting income is often limited, despite the very evident impact this revenue stream has on their Enterprise Value.”
