Manchester United are still top of the league when it comes to earning potential

Manchester United’s failure to win any silverware this season has not made any difference to the club’s huge earning potential.

The Old Trafford outfit had the highest revenues of any football club in Europe – outstripping Spanish giants Barcelona and Real Madrid.

Ahead of Saturday’s UEFA Champions League final between Real Madrid and Liverpool and following the success of last two years’ publications, KPMG is releasing the third edition of the “Football Clubs’ Valuation: The European Elite 2018”.

The report provides an indication of the Enterprise Value (EV) of the 32 most prominent European football clubs.

The figures were released in the same week that Manchester United were beaten in the final of the FA Cup by Chelsea. Despite the setback the club has gone from strength to strength in recent years.

With a combined Enterprise Value of 32.5bn Euros, the aggregate value of Europe’s 32 leading clubs grew by 9% in comparison to last season.

Multi-million pound transfer deals and spiralling wage bills have not prevented clubs from registering a striking upward trend, as the profits before taxes increased by some 17 times compared to the previous year.

Manchester United FC (3,255m Euros) top the list ahead of the two Spanish giants (FC Barcelona and Real Madrid CF), extending their lead with a year-on-year growth of 5%, remaining the only club above the 3bn Euros threshold in Enterprise Value.

English clubs rake in significantly higher broadcasting revenues than their European peers and occupy nine spots in the top 20.

Champions League finalists Real Madrid (2,920m Euros) and Liverpool (EUR 1,580m Euros), stand in the second and eight positions respectively in KPMG’s ranking.

Andrea Sartori, KPMG’s Global Head of Sports and the report’s author, said: “Despite this year’s growth being lower than last year’s 14% growth, the football industry continues its rise, showing for the second successive season an EV increase (9%) for the top 32 clubs included in our ranking.

“Overall growth is driven by different factors, one of these being the increase of operating revenues of the top 32, at 8%.”

He added: “One of the reasons for this growth can be found in the significant influence exercised by English clubs, as well as the improved financial health of many mid-size clubs within the ranking, which also reflects compliance with the UEFA FFP Regulations.”

The top 10 ranking order has not changed since last year, with Tottenham Hotspur taking the headlines again, displaying the highest EV increase (27% in Euros).

Performance on social media is one of the five drivers reflected in KPMG’s formula determining the enterprise value of a football club.

As there is a clear connection between a club’s social media presence, on-pitch success, brand value and ultimately EV.

In total, the top 32 clubs according to EV gained close to 111 million new followers across all social media platforms, representing a 10 percent increase over the course of the period under review.