⚽️ Football Economics

Billions of fans, but who’s making money?

Jun 20, 2025

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⚽️ Football (soccer in the US) is the world’s most beloved sport

With an estimated 3.5 billion fans, football is more popular than basketball, baseball, and American football combined. The 2022 World Cup final between Argentina and France drew an estimated 1.5 billion viewers.

And this month, the sport is getting a whole new spotlight.

For the first time, the FIFA Club World Cup is adopting a World Cup-style format, featuring 32 of the best clubs (based on recent performance) competing over a month-long tournament with more than $1 billion in prize money—$125 million for the winner alone.

📍 Matches are being played in iconic US stadiums—from the Rose Bowl to MetLife—giving American fans a rare chance to see football royalty up close.

It’s no longer a niche, mid-season event. It will be held every four years, just like its national team counterpart. Think of it as the warm-up act before the 2026 FIFA World Cup, co-hosted by the US, Canada, and Mexico, and expected to draw over 5 billion viewers worldwide.

But does all this attention turn into profits? Let’s break it down.

💰 The Most Valuable Clubs

Let’s start with the big picture.

Here are the 15 most valuable football clubs in the world, ranked by enterprise value—and visualized by yours truly. The estimates come from Forbes, based on historical transactions, future economics, and data from the Deloitte Football Money League.

10 of these 15 clubs are competing in this year’s FIFA Club World Cup, making the tournament a true showcase of the sport’s elite. The most valuable non-European club is LAFC (Los Angeles Football Club), ranked 15th overall.

According to Deloitte, Real Madrid became the first club to surpass $1 billion in revenue during the 2023–24 season. But even at that level, sporting performance remains critical, particularly in Europe, where participation in the all-important UEFA Champions League (determined by domestic league success) directly impacts broadcast revenue, sponsorships, and matchday income.

🇺🇸 Still behind the NFL and NBA: Real Madrid leads European football in value—but just barely cracks the global top 15 across all sports. US teams dominate thanks to massive local media deals, premium sponsorships, and fanbases with deeper pockets.

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💰 Football’s Billion-Dollar Dilemma

Football may be the most watched sport in the world, but it’s also one of the toughest to turn into a profitable business.

Despite massive global fan bases, billion-dollar sponsorships, and TV deals, most clubs operate on razor-thin margins or deep losses.

That explains why football clubs are usually owned by billionaires, celebrities, or sovereign wealth funds chasing legacy, not profit.

🎬 Hollywood stars: Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney (Wrexham)
🏀 Athletes-turned-investors: LeBron James (Liverpool)
🛢️ Oil money: Sheikh Mansour (Man City), Saudi PIF (Newcastle)
💼 Deep pockets: Todd Boehly (Chelsea), Jim Ratcliffe (Man United)

But wait, there’s more:

Luxury money steps in: Bernard Arnault’s family (LVMH) recently took majority control of Paris FC, with ambitions to build a Ligue 1 contender.
The multi-club model goes public: John Textor’s Eagle Football, which owns stakes in Crystal Palace, Lyon, and Botafogo, has filed a confidential S‑1 to IPO in the US—a potential first test of whether investors are ready to back a publicly traded, multi-club football empire.

Ownership isn’t about ROI—it’s about status, power, or passion.

So, we crunched the numbers for the only three clubs in the global top 15 that are publicly listed—Manchester United, Juventus, and Borussia Dortmund—to see how their businesses stack up.

Spoiler: it’s not pretty.

🔴 Man United: Strong Off The Pitch

FY24 (fiscal year ending in June):

Total revenue: £662 million (+2% Y/Y).
Operating loss: £69 million (–10% margin).
Main revenue stream: Commercial (£303 million, flat Y/Y).

Manchester United remains a global powerhouse off the pitch, thanks to its iconic brand, massive merchandising machine, and army of sponsors. Commercial revenue still leads the way, making up nearly half of total income—proof that the jersey still sells, even when the trophy cabinet stays dusty.

Broadcasting revenue rose 6%, helped by a deep FA Cup run and consistent global TV demand. Matchday sales were flat, with Old Trafford still drawing massive crowds despite an underwhelming 8th-place Premier League finish.

🔎 SWOT Snapshot:
Strengths: Global fanbase, brand equity, diversified revenue.
Weaknesses: Underperformance on the pitch relative to wages.
Opportunities: Commercial expansion in the US and Asia.
Threats: Missed Champions League = massive revenue gap.

Fun fact: In FY24, United spent £365 million on employee benefits—more than the GDP of some island nations. The club expanded its losses, but that’s what happens when you pay Champions League wages for Europa League results.

⚫ Juventus: No UCL, No Cushion

FY24 (fiscal year ending in June):

Total revenue: €395 million (–22% Y/Y).
Operating loss: €175 million (–44% margin).
Main revenue stream: Sponsorship & advertising (€133 million, –12% Y/Y).

Juventus had a brutal year on and off the pitch.

With no UEFA competition in FY24, media rights took a massive hit, down 37%. That drop alone wiped out nearly €60 million in top-line revenue.

Sponsorship and advertising remained the largest contributor, but also fell by double digits. Ticket sales only declined by 6% thanks to loyal fans in Turin, but without European nights, it wasn’t enough.

The kicker? Juventus burned through €170 million in amortization of player contracts—more than 40% of revenue. That’s the cost of years of aggressive transfer spending catching up, with no result to show for on the field.

🔎 SWOT Snapshot:
Strengths: Brand history, loyal fanbase, diversified revenue streams
Weaknesses: No European competition = steep media losses
Opportunities: Bounce-back expected with UCL participation in FY25/26
Threats: Massive amortization burden, aging squad, on-pitch instability

Juve managed to win the Coppa Italia in FY24, and their women’s team won the Italian Super Cup. But smaller trophies don’t pay the bills when your broadcast deals vanish.

🟡 Borussia Dortmund: Selling Stars

FY24 (fiscal year ending in June):

Total revenue: €509 million (+22% Y/Y).
Operating profit: €46 million (21% margin).
Key boost: Net transfer income of $98 million (thanks, Jude).

Among Europe’s top clubs, Borussia Dortmund stands out for one reason: they actually made money.

Revenue jumped 22%, powered by a Champions League final run. TV marketing was the largest revenue stream (€206M), surging 31% with strong European exposure. Meanwhile, merchandise and matchday income soared, as fans packed Signal Iduna Park and stocked up on black-and-yellow gear.

But the real story? Transfers. Dortmund sold Jude Bellingham to Real Madrid for €103 million, resulting in $98 million in net transfer income, enough to swing the club into the black.

🔎 SWOT Snapshot:
Strengths: Elite youth pipeline, profitable transfers, fan engagement
Weaknesses: Profit volatility tied to player sales
Opportunities: Convert footballing success into commercial growth
Threats: Struggles in Bundesliga could hurt future TV revenue

This is Dortmund’s blueprint—buy low, develop, sell high. They’ve done it with Erling Haaland, Jadon Sancho, Ousmane Dembélé, and more recently, Bellingham. But this model is hard to repeat, and every miss hurts more when you’re relying on it.

📊 Why it’s so hard to profit in football

It’s one of the biggest paradoxes in sports.

Football clubs are worth billions. Their fan bases dwarf those of most Fortune 500 companies. Yet most still bleed red ink. And it’s not because they’re run poorly—it’s because the economics of the sport are structurally flawed.

Here’s why the business model is so tricky:

⚽ Sky-high payrolls: Competition for star players is fierce.
💸 Transfer dependency: Clubs rely on selling talent like it's inventory, but there’s no guarantee of a buyer (or a next breakout star).
🏟️ Low scalability: Matchday income is capped by stadium size, and expansion is costly and slow.
🎯 Performance whiplash: A bad season can tank Champions League money and major sponsors. European clubs even face relegation.
📉 Media disruption: Younger fans increasingly skip full games in favor of TikTok, YouTube highlights, or creator commentary.
📺 The death of cable: As the traditional sports bundle unravels, so does the guaranteed flow of broadcast cash.

Even with all the global attention, football remains one of the hardest businesses to monetize consistently. Performing on the pitch is not enough, and clubs must keep up with a fanbase that’s moving on from the match entirely.

🏛️ Meanwhile, FIFA and UEFA play a critical role behind the scenes.
As football’s governing bodies, they’re technically nonprofits—but they oversee billions in revenue from media rights and sponsorships. FIFA expects $11 billion in revenue across its 2023–26 cycle, largely from expanded tournaments like the Club World Cup.
While these funds are redistributed through payouts and development programs, the system reinforces a top-heavy model: governing bodies earn big from global attention, while clubs carry the cost of competing.

💡 The takeaway for investors

The business of football is booming in attention and valuation, but not always in profit for the pro clubs.

For now, most clubs look like passion projects, powered by billionaires, nation-states, and celebrities chasing legacy over ROI.

But the game is changing.

Private equity, sovereign wealth funds, and global investors are now betting big, not just on trophies, but on the long-term potential to monetize global fanbases through:

🌍 Global tours and sponsorship deals.
📺 Streaming and direct-to-consumer media.
🧢 Merchandising, licensing, and brand extensions.
📱 Digital content, NFTs, fantasy leagues, and more.

The beautiful game may not always be a beautiful business.

But for many owners, legacy is the real prize.

That’s it for today!

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Disclosure: I am long AAPL, META, and NFLX in App Economy Portfolio. I share my ratings (BUY, SELL, or HOLD) with App Economy Portfolio members.

Author's Note (Bertrand here 👋🏼): The views and opinions expressed in this newsletter are solely my own and should not be considered financial advice or any other organization's views.