“The sticker price is not the full price”: Is football’s bull market coming to a close?
Alamy | Atalanta major shareholder, Stephen Pagliuca, salutes the fans prior to kick off in the UEFA Europa League match at Gewiss Stadium, Bergamo.
While a world record sale for Manchester United is anticipated – following billion plus deals for Chelsea and Milan – questions about club valuations are starting to be raised. This time it’s from an unlikely source – bankers.
Sports financiers raised repeated questions about revenue growth, funding methods and valuation at last week’s FT Sports Business Summit.
Why it matters: Football clubs transcend traditional valuation methods, meaning a price is subjective. But it’s not clear if investors are buying into a rising market or one that has peaked.
The perspective: Chelsea “set the cat among the pigeons” with a sale commitment of £4.25 billion. Both existing owners and investors tested the market, but it’s not clear who the winners are from the current price rush or how they’ll make money.
6 March 2023 - 6:44 PM
As a possible warning about the direction of football club valuations, it seemed a perceptive one – if only from an unlikely source.
“I look at the difference between the number one club and the 20th club in terms of revenues, I think is about five times in terms of difference,” said the speaker to last week’s FT Football Business Summit, at a Mayfair venue packed with football leaders, club owners, financiers and analysts.
“Yet, if you believe some parts of th
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