FC Barcelona Tops Forbes Rich List Despite Huge Debt

For the first time in history, Spanish La Liga heavyweight FC Barcelona tops the latest Forbes list of the 20 most valuable football clubs in the World.

Despite substantial financial debts of over £1billion, the Catalan giant have knocked League rivals and Europe’s most successful club Real Madrid off the number one position to second spot.

According to Forbes, the Lionel Messi-led Barcelona side, coming from the back of an El Classico loss at the weekend, are valued at about £3.46billion, equivalent to $4.76billion, just narrowly ahead of Real Madrid’s valuation of about £3.45billion, equivalent to $4.75billion.

The Prem

English Premier League giants Manchester United remain the most valuable club in the English top-flight league, valued at £3.06billion, equivalent to $4.2billion – but have dropped from the third position to fourth spot in the world ranking, behind UEFA Champions League holders Bayern Munich at £3.07billion, equivalent to $4.215billion.

Reigning English Premier League Champions, Liverpool are valued at £2.98billion, while Premier League leaders, Manchester City are valued at £2.91billion, which PointsBet Illinois have previously stated earlier. Roman Abramovich own club, Chelsea are valued at £2.33billion and North London giants Arsenal are valued at £2.04billion follow on before French Ligue 1 champions Paris Saint-Germain at £1.82billion and Jose Mourinho led Tottenham Hotspurs at £1.67billion – meaning six clubs from the Premier League still feature in the top 10 Forbes list.

Forbes’ release disclosed that Merseyside club, Liverpool have seen an 88% rise in their financial value over the last two seasons, as they have clinched the English Premier League and UEFA Champions League titles.

The Rest of the List

Paris Saint Germain’s move into the top 10 on the Forbes list sees Italian Serie A heavyweight Juventus drop out from 2020’s rich list into 11th position.

Top Four-chasing Premier League side, Everton is valued at £479million, while the surprise package of the current Premier League season West Ham United is valued at £369million and former Premier League champions Leicester City at £331million are also in the Forbes top 20 list – the Foxes, climbing into the top 20 for the first time in the club’s history, at number 19, above Dutch Eredivisie champions Ajax Amsterdam.

German Bundesliga giants Borussia Dortmund, Spanish La Liga table toppers Atletico Madrid, current Italian Serie A top 2 teams Inter Milan and AC Milan, as well as AS Roma are the other football clubs to feature in the Forbes top 20.

Forbes announced that the average worth of football clubs in the top 20 list had increased by over 30% in the last 2 seasons, despite the severe impact of the deadly Covid-19 pandemic.

It is an obvious fact that Match day revenue fell tremendously to $441m equivalent to £320million last campaign, a 9.6% drop from the 2017-18 campaign.

Despite the football club’s sharp drop in overall financial valuation, the Red Devils of Manchester had the biggest operating income of over $167million/£121million of the top 20 during the last season and made over $643million/£468million in revenue.