Barcelona looks set to top Real Madrid as the world's most valuable sports
This year we valued Real Madrid at $3.26 billion, the most of any team in sports and Barcelona at $3.16 billion, second to its Spanish rival among soccer teams. But thanks in part to winning the treble this year and raking in 57.9 million Euro for capturing the Champions League, the Catalans' revenue should be 600 million Euro for 2014-15, a record (in local currency) for a soccer team.
During 2013-14, Barcelona's revenue was 530 million Euro, according to their annual report. In its annual Money League report,
Real Madrid, which won the Champions League the previous year, lost in the semi-finals this year to Juventus. As a result, Real Madrid's revenue will likely not exceed 560 million Euro for 2014-15.
The 40 million differential in revenue in favor of Barcelona will also mean their operating income (in the sense of earnings before interest taxes, depreciation, amortization and player transfers) will again exceed Real Madrid. Add to that the Catalans' pending extension of its shirt deal with Qatar Airways, which will be worth twice the current agreement beginning with the 2016-17 season, and a strong case can be made that Barcelona is now soccer's most valuable team.
What about Manchester United? After all, the Red Devils have the most lucrative shirt and kit deals in the world with Nike and General Motors. Manchester United did not qualify for the 2014-15 tournament and their revenue is expected to come in at about 540 million Euro for 2015. Manchester United will participate in 2015-16 Champions League but even with higher corporate ticket prices penciled in, their revenue will fall short of Barcelona's 600 million.
Publicly traded Manchester United has an enterprise value of $3.23 billion. As of now, I expect Barcelona finish atop of our 2016 soccer team valuations at around 3 billion Euro ($3.6 billion).
