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On the field, Major League Soccer teams are still some distance away from standing toe-to-toe with their counterparts in the English Premier League and other elite European circuits.
Off of it, MLS franchise values are already world-class.
Sports business industry news outlet Sportico on Wednesday published its latest annual ranking of the Top 50 most valuable clubs in global soccer. MLS has 19 representatives on the list.
Meantime, the Premier League accounts for just 14 spots. What gives?
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First, European teams dominate the top third of the ranking. Real Madrid leapfrogged Manchester United into the top spot in 2025 by becoming the first soccer club to generate more than $1 billion in revenue. Sportico values the Spanish titan at $6.53B, ahead of Man United’s $6.09B. Barcelona (5.71B) is third. The first 15 places are occupied by clubs from Spain, England, France, Italy and Germany.
Things get interesting after that.
LAFC is 16th, with a valuation of $1.28B. Fellow MLS teams round out the rest of the top 20. All are worth a cool 10 figures: Lionel Messi-led Inter Miami sits No. 17 at $1.3B, followed by the LA Galaxy ($1.11B), Atlanta United ($1.08B), and New York City FC ($1B).
NYCFC, appearing on the list for the first time since the ranking began in 2023, brought in just $79 million last year. The team right behind them at No. 21, Premier League side West Ham United, earned more than four times as much money last year. But the Hammers’ expenses are far higher.
“MLS can’t match the revenue of top European clubs, but it has the advantage on cost controls, modern stadiums and a single-entity structure that fosters ownership collaboration,” Sportico’s Kurt Badenhausen wrote. “The lack of relegation also sets a floor for MLS values that has risen dramatically over the past decade.”
Relegation — demotion to a lower division because of poor performance on the pitch — is a huge financial threat to mid-major European clubs, who rely on top-flight leagues’ colossal media rights deals to pay elite players’ ever-rising salaries. Drop down a level, and most of that income evaporates, creating a potentially ruinous financial crisis. The risk is significant. Premier League sides Newcastle United and Aston Villa, the 22nd and 24th most valuable clubs in the world on this year’s list, have both been relegated to England’s second tier within the last decade.
MLS franchises also benefit from a salary cap that, with a few exceptions, applies to all but up to three high-earning, cap-exempt “Designated Players” per team, helping keep costs down compared to their rivals overseas. Most of the rest of planet futbol has few restrictions outside of FIFA’s financial fair play rules, which attempt to force teams not to spend more money than they generate. Those have proven mostly toothless, though; Sportico notes that Man United has operated in the red for six straight years, and that five of the top 15 teams on this year’s list had an operating loss of more than $60 million over the past two seasons.
“The absence of effective cost controls on player salaries significantly undermines the financial sustainability of these clubs,” Alexander Jarvis, whose consulting firm specializes in soccer club acquisitions, told the outlet. Despite the immense global popularity of some of their brands, “it’s rare to see a profitable club at the top level in either Spain or England,” he said.
That’s one reason why soccer teams’ valuations lag far behind those in American sports leagues, particularly the NFL and NBA.
“The lousy economic model [in Europe] explains why Real Madrid and Manchester United are the only soccer teams ranked in the top 20 of the world’s most valuable sports franchises, which skews heavily toward the NFL with its strict salary cap and $400-million-a-year TV checks,” Badenhausen wrote. “The top 100 franchises feature all 32 NFL teams and all 30 NBA teams, but just 10 soccer clubs.”
The full ranking is below, with MLS teams bolded. Sportico’s methodology can be found here.
- Real Madrid (Spain) $6.53B
- Manchester United (England) $6.09B
- Barcelona (Spain) $5.71B
- Liverpool (England) $5.59B
- Bayern Munich (Germany) $5.21B
- Manchester City (England) $5.16B
- Arsenal (England) $4.49B
- Paris Saint-Germain (France) $4.26B
- Tottenham (England) $3.68B
- Chelsea (England) $3.57B
- Atlético Madrid (Spain) $1.85B
- Borussia Dortmund (Germany) $1.83B
- Juventus (Italy) $1.81B
- AC Milan (Italy) $1.34B
- Inter Milan (Italy) $1.3B
- Los Angeles FC (MLS) $1.28B
- Inter Miami (MLS) $1.19B
- LA Galaxy (MLS) $1.11B
- Atlanta United (MLS) $1.08B
- New York City FC (MLS) $1B
- West Ham United (England) $940M
- Newcastle United (England) $930M
- Austin FC (MLS) $865M
- Aston Villa (England) $850M
- Seattle Sounders (MLS) $825M
- Everton (England) $825M
- Napoli (Italy) $775M
- Club América (Mexico) $770M
- Lyon (France) $750M
- AS Roma (Italy) $750M
- Brighton (England) $745M
- Guadalajara (Mexico) $730M
- Columbus Crew (MLS) $730M
- Toronto FC (MLS) $725M
- FC Cincinnati (MLS) $725M
- D.C. United (MLS) $720M
- Portland Timbers (MLS) $720M
- Ajax (Netherlands) $710M
- Charlotte FC (MLS) $705M
- Philadelphia Union (MLS) $700M
- Benfica (Portugal) $675M
- St. Louis City (MLS) $655M
- Minnesota United (MLS) $655M
- Sporting Kansas City (MLS) $650M
- New York Red Bulls (MLS) $645M
- Nashville SC (MLS) $640M
- Eintracht Frankfurt (Germany) $640M
- Bournemouth (England) $630M
- Brentford (England) $615M
- Crystal Palace (England) $610M
Doug McIntyre is a soccer reporter for FOX Sports who has covered United States men’s and women’s national teams at FIFA World Cups on five continents. Follow him @ByDougMcIntyre.
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