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Shares Magazine
As the domestic football season enters its final knockings and the winners are sorted from the losers its interesting and instructive to look at the fortunes of football clubs on the stock market and what it tells us about investing in general.
I may be a big football fan but there’s a reason why I don’t mix investing with the beautiful game. The first thing which stands out is the value of these businesses is very modest compared with their wider profile. Even Manchester United, the largest football club on the stock market through its New York listing and indeed one of the largest football clubs globally, has a market value which wouldn’t see it qualify for the FTSE 100.
To throw this into even sharper relief the company’s market value is less than software firm Softcat – an interesting business no doubt but one with nowhere near the profile or the brand value of the Red Devils. According to consultancy firm Brand Finance, Manchester United was number seven in terms of the most valuable global football franchises in 2025.
Celtic, while not on Manchester United’s level, is a huge global club in football terms but the London Stock Exchange’s only remaining listed football club is small fry when it comes to the financial markets.
Yet think about the level of loyalty displayed by your average football fan – it arguably exceeds even that of the fandom of devotees of Games Workshop – incidentally another stock market name whose valuation exceeds that of Manchester United. Even if the product isn’t up to scratch most football fans are for life and will grimly stick with their team through periods of underperformance.
Tapping into this can be extremely lucrative – either by selling match tickets and merchandise or by attracting sponsorship from businesses which want to be associated with the brand. Added to this, sport is one of the few categories which guarantees a live TV audience. Broadcasting rights for the Premier League run into the billions.
Why are football clubs shunned by investors?
So why the disconnect and what can we glean from it about what to look for in a winning investment?
First of all, while football may be big business in 2026 it’s not exactly profitable and many clubs lose money. For the full year to 30 June 2025, Manchester United chalked up a net loss of £33 million.
That’s because a large proportion of the revenue they generate goes into paying talent in a competitive market to try and achieve success on the pitch. Huge sums are expended on players in transfer fees and wages which, thanks to injury and loss of form, might not even deliver any benefit to the club. That leaves very little left over for shareholders – with dividends a real rarity.
Businesses which, in contrast, can keep a tight control on the purse strings, can reward shareholders by returning cash and don’t face these sorts of extreme competitive pressures will often fly up the league table in stock market terms.
Second, football is unpredictable and the fluctuating fortunes of clubs can have a big impact on their revenue. Particularly if they are relegated from the top division or even if they narrowly fail to qualify for European competitions. What most investors are looking for when they put money into a share is consistent growth and some level of visibility on future revenue. For the most part, that just isn’t available in the world of football.
Tom Sieber: Content Editor
Tom Sieber is AJ Bell's Content Editor. He was previously the Editor of Shares Magazine. He has been with the business since 2012.
Tom is a regular contributor to the AJ Bell Money & Markets...
