Real Madrid remains most valuable football club in Europe

Spanish football giants Real Madrid remains the most valuable club in Europe, according to the Football Clubs’ Valuation report by accountancy firm KPMG.

The report, published on Thursday, put Manchester United in second despite its on-pitch struggles in the Premier League while Real’s domestic rivals Barcelona leapfrogged Bayern Munich into third.

The fifth annual report ranks clubs based on their “enterprise value”, a metric created by analysing profitability, popularity, sporting potential, TV rights and stadium ownership to January 1, 2020.

That means the impact of the coronavirus pandemic was not considered.

“Club values have certainly been affected,” wrote Andrea Sartori, global head of sport at KPMG. “But the immediate impact cannot yet be quantified.”

Borussia Dortmund and Schalke also represent the Bundesliga in the top 15 while there are nine Premier League clubs, seven Spanish and six Italian sides in the top 32.

The outbreak of the novel coronavirus, which has so far infected more than 5.7 million people and killed more than 350,000, forced postponement and cancellation of many sporting events around the world.

The most significant one that was due to take place in Japan this summer was the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

Earlier this month, Germany’s Bundesliga became the first major football league in Europe to resume after a two-month break, despite many fans opposing the resumption of the season.

Football faces losing many clubs to bankruptcy because of the coronavirus pandemic, a club executive warned.