Key Takeaways
- Transactions involving sports clubs and franchises reached over €106 billion across 2025 and 2026, according to a FIGC study published in Il Sole 24 Ore.
- Institutional investors such as private equity, sovereign wealth funds and investment groups drove 62% of capital deployed across sports deals in 2025.
- Major recent valuations include a record €10.8 billion for the Los Angeles Lakers and a €6.2 billion enterprise valuation for Liverpool.
Surging valuations turn elite sports into premier asset class
Global capital continues to pour into the sports world at unprecedented levels, driven by escalating valuations and the heavy involvement of private equity, sovereign wealth funds and ultra-high-net-worth individuals. An analysis by the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) study centre, published in Il Sole 24 Ore, reveals that transactions involving sports clubs and franchises alone have exceeded €100 billion between 2025 and 2026.
In 2025, the sector registered 356 transactions with an aggregate value of €47.9 billion. That momentum gathered further pace into 2026, with 215 completed deals already valued at an estimated €58.3 billion. In less than two full years, over €106 billion has been committed directly to teams and franchises, underscoring how sports assets have evolved from prestige vanity projects into a mainstream financial asset class.
A global entertainment juggernaut
This rush of institutional capital reflects the broader growth of the sports industry. Aggregate turnover generated by sports intellectual property owners expanded by 50% between 2015 and 2025, reaching $174 billion. That scale positions sports as the third-largest entertainment industry globally, trailing only video games and television, while generating more than double the revenue of the music business.
Over the past decade, the sector has expanded at an average annual rate of 6%, roughly double the pace of global economic growth. Projections indicate the market could reach $260 billion by 2033, maintaining an annual compound growth rate of around 5%. When looking across the wider sporting ecosystem in 2025—including sports-related businesses, minority shareholdings, media rights deals and financing—about 430 major transactions took place, exceeding €124 billion in total value.
Club and franchise investment breakdown
| Period | Deals tracked | Total value |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 356 | €47.9 billion |
| 2026 (to date) | 215 | €58.3 billion |
| Two-year total | 571 | €106.2 billion |
Scarcity driving premium prices despite profitability hurdles
The primary catalyst behind these soaring valuations is structural scarcity. The limited inventory of tier-one clubs and franchises, paired with enduring global brand recognition and dedicated fan communities, creates strong competitive tension among bidders. Long-term broadcast contracts provide predictable cash flows, while digital fan engagement and international expansion offer long-term upside.
However, escalating top-line revenue has not translated smoothly into operating profits, particularly across European football. Unlike North American closed leagues that operate without the risk of relegation, European clubs absorb much of their increased revenue through spiralling operating costs. Forbes data highlights this structural divide: nine of the world’s ten most operationally profitable sports properties are North American franchises, alongside Formula 1 team Mercedes. By contrast, roughly 740 clubs across the top 55 European divisions accumulated combined losses exceeding €14 billion over the past six years.
Landmark transactions across the Atlantic
The year 2026 produced several benchmark deals that altered the market. The acquisition of the Los Angeles Lakers, led by Joshua Kushner, set a new record with a valuation of €10.8 billion. In European football, a consortium including Amazon founder Jeff Bezos acquired a 38% stake in Liverpool for €2.3 billion, which valued the Premier League club at around €6.2 billion. Fenway Sports Group had previously purchased the Merseyside club in 2010 for less than €350 million.
In another major English top-flight transaction, Todd Boehly and Mark Walter divested their holdings in Chelsea for approximately €1.1 billion, leaving Clearlake Capital in firm control of the London side. Prospective developments such as the NBA Europe concept are also driving investor interest, with prospective entry bids in 12 identified host cities ranging from $500 million to $1 billion.
Funds dominate as multi-club ownership accelerates
Men’s football ranked as the third-largest sporting discipline for capital raised in 2025, taking in roughly €9 billion and trailing only basketball and sports gaming. The sports video game segment was lifted heavily by the leveraged buyout of Electronic Arts, secured by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund alongside Silver Lake and Affinity Partners at an enterprise value of around €49 billion, which included €17 billion in debt financing.
Institutional funds remain the primary market engine. Private equity firms, investment funds and sovereign entities accounted for 32% of all 2025 transactions (136 out of 427) but generated 62% of the invested capital, representing €77 billion out of €124.1 billion. Football alone saw 65 fund-backed acquisitions worth €5.9 billion in 2025, up 37% from €4.3 billion in 2024. With private equity managers holding an estimated €7.4 trillion in assets worldwide—a tenfold increase over twenty years—deployable capital remains substantial.
This institutional push has accelerated the multi-club ownership model. Among investment funds operating in football, 58% hold stakes in multiple clubs globally. The trend is clearly visible in the UEFA Champions League, where 47% of participating clubs now feature at least one investor with shareholdings in other football organisations.
