Real Madrid take back top spot on Forbes most valuable clubs list

13-time UEFA Champions League winners Real Madrid are the most valuable club in the world again, according to the latest list released by Forbes.

The list is made up of the clubs who posted the most profit in a year and increased their valuation on the market. The Spanish giants have displaced their El Clasico rivals Barcelona to reclaim the top spot once again in a year of recovery for most clubs after the Covid-19 pandemic changed a lot of things.

Real Madrid’s new status as the world’s most valuable club is due to their successes in various competitions this season. They won the Supercopa De Espana in January, won the LaLiga, and are in the final of the UEFA Champions League where they will face Liverpool for their 14th title.

From the Champions League alone, Los Blancos earned a surplus of £100 million, which helped their value rise by seven percent.

Per the current valuation by Forbes, Madrid are valued at £4.1 billion, while Barcelona are second with their £4 billion valuation. Manchester United, Liverpool and Bayern Munich rank third, fourth and fifth respectively.

Barcelona drop due to debts accrued

Barcelona’s financial problems are box office at this point. Two seasons of financial mismanagement saw them accrue billions of euros in debts which led to them being displaced by their El Clasico rivals at the top of the list.

It is understood that their valuation would not have dropped if not for these debts accrued over the past two seasons. These debts saw them lose their biggest names which lost them some investment as well.

However, they are slowly building their way back to the top, starting with a mega sponsorship deal with streaming giants Spotify which will see the Camp Nou be renamed to Spotify Camp Nou for the next four years starting next season.

The club will also beat Spotify branding on most of its kits next season.

They are also in talks with financing firm CVC as well as Goldman Sachs and All Sport Finance, which could earn them well in excess of €500 million combined.

Barcelona are also understood to be six percent more valuable than they were last year and are supposedly on the right track to getting on their feet.