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Want to invest in European football (soccer) teams? Here’s how to buy soccer stocks, plus the risks and rewards of doing so.
Can I buy soccer stocks?
Yes, you can buy stocks in soccer clubs listed on a stock exchange. You can see a full list of available football teams in the table below. All are from European football (soccer) clubs.
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Most European soccer stocks (except for Manchester United) are located on non-US exchanges, which means you’ll need a brokerage account that offers access to international stocks or OTC markets. Different brokerages offer access to different exchanges, so if you’re interested in a specific non-US stock, you’ll want to check if it’s available through your brokerage account.
Manchester United’s on-the-field success has enabled it to become one of the most supported football teams on the planet — and one of the richest. Majority-owned by the Glazer Family and valued at $4.6 billion USD, Manchester United is currently ranked 4th in Forbes’ list of the most valuable football clubs.
Arch-rivals to Rangers, Celtic is one of the most successful clubs in Scotland, having won the Scottish league championship an impressive 51 times. With a valuation of £94m, Celtic was ranked 48th on the list of most valuable football brands by Brand Finance in July 2020. The largest shareholder is Irish businessman Dermot Desmond, who effectively has control of the club.
Few clubs in Europe are as recognizable as Borussia Dortmund, Germany’s second-most successful team. It also became the first and only German club to be publicly traded on the stock market in the first year of the millennium. The club is listed under the name Borussia Dortmund GmbH & Co. Kommanditgesellschaft auf Aktien.
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Exchange: XETRA (also listed on OTC Markets: BORUF)
AS Roma — or the Giallorossi (yellow and reds) — have won 3 Serie A titles alongside 9 Coppa Italias and are a mainstay of Italian football. Majority owned by the Friedkin Group, Forbes valued Roma at $548 million USD (around £397 million) as of April 2021, making it the 17th most valuable club in the world. AS Roma is listed on the Milan Stock Exchange.
Juventus is Italy’s most successful club, having won a record 36 official league titles (Scudetto), 14 Coppa Italia titles and 9 Supercoppa titles. Majority-owned by the Agnelli family and valued at $1.95 billion USD, it’s currently ranked 11th in Forbes’ global rich list.
Olympique Lyonnais Groupe is the comprehensive entity encompassing the renowned French football club Olympique Lyonnais. Under the leadership of figures like Jean-Michel Aulas, the group oversees football operations, youth development, and business ventures. It reflects a commitment to excellence, both on and off the field, in Lyon and beyond.
FC Copenhagen, based in Copenhagen, Denmark, is a prominent football club competing in the Danish Superliga. Established in 1992, it quickly rose to prominence, winning numerous domestic titles. The team plays its home matches at Parken Stadium and has represented Denmark in European competitions, demonstrating a strong presence in Scandinavian football.
For many fans, soccer stocks are more of a novelty than an investment, providing another way to support their favorite teams. While not unheard of, you wouldn’t typically invest in a rival team to the one you support — you’re almost guaranteed a pie in the face if you rock up at a Liverpool game and announce you’ve got Manchester United stock.
There’s no saying how stocks will perform, as different European soccer teams have had vastly different results over the last five years as of the time of writing.
For example, Manchester United has gained just 4.47% in value in the last five years — you could’ve gotten similar results with a savings account. Meanwhile, Juventus has seen gains of 156.25% in the last five years. Clubs have lost money, too — Borussia Dortmund stock has gone down 14% in five years, while AS Roma stock has gone down 9.76%.
As always, past performance doesn’t indicate future results. Carefully look into any football club’s financials before you invest.
Why can’t I buy stock in other soccer teams?
You can only buy stock in soccer teams that are publicly traded. If a team is still privately owned, you won’t be able to buy stock in it. However, you could invest in a club’s sponsors, or you could invest in a club’s parent company, assuming it’s publicly traded.
Risks of buying soccer stocks
When it comes to investing, the stock price of listed European soccer clubs should, in theory, be driven by the same factors as any other stock, like future profit outlook as well as supply and demand.
Factors such as player transfers, team financials and sponsorships can impact a team’s stock price. But, for Lindsell Train Limited fund manager Nick Train, short-term performance on the field isn’t a major investment concern.
“The allure to us of live sports franchises is the loyal fan base that is more valued by advertisers than almost any other entertainment medium,” said Train. “Out of a universe of 12 quoted soccer clubs, we own three unique franchises: Juventus, Manchester United and Celtic, which all could be readily described as national icons.”
While the long-term consequences of COVID-19 on soccer clubs are still unknown, for investors like Train, shutting out the noise is the most important element of investing in the world’s largest sports franchises.
Train adopts what is known as a long-term investment approach. When he buys a company, he’s prepared to wade out any short-term market movements (“volatility”) and take a view of 3+ years. So, team performance and recent scandals, such as the European Super League (ESL), don’t overly influence his decision to buy or sell. He says all investors should bear this in mind when considering buying into a football club.
Ben Yearsley, an investment consultant at Fairview Investing, said investors must accept that they lack any sort of decision-making power as investors in clubs with majority shareholders, like Manchester United.
“Despite being listed, majority owners have almost total control due to the size of their shareholding,” he added. This lack of control was evident during the ESL proposal, which resulted in widespread fan protests.
Investing in soccer-related stocks
If you don’t want to invest directly in stocks of soccer clubs but want to invest in the increasingly popular sport, investing in soccer-related stocks may be an option. These include stocks of companies involved in the soccer industry, whether that’s athletic apparel companies like Nike (NKE), soccer sponsors like Spotify (SPOT) or companies that broadcast soccer games. In November 2022, Major League Soccer agreed to a new 10-year broadcast agreement with Apple (APPL) worth an estimated $2.5 billion.
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Bottom line
While investing in a football club might seem a fun idea, these are not novelty shares. You’re buying real stock in a real company. Any investment carries the risk of loss alongside potential rewards.
However, like watching the beautiful game, investing in football clubs offers something unique and valuable for investors. It might not quite match a stoppage-time winner. But for those willing to be patient, the rewards might prove to be just as exciting.
Yes, you can. As long as the team isn't privately owned and is publicly listed on a stock exchange you can invest in it. Make sure you know whether the pro team is listed on a U.S. exchange or an international exhange.
Sign up for an account. Provide your personal information and sign up.
Set up a funding method to pay for the transaction. Deposit funds into your account by linking your banking information.
Choose the stocks you want to buy. Search for the stock by name or ticker symbol: "MANU".
Place your order. Buy the stock. It's that simple.
It's very difficult. Arsenal Football Club is not listed on a public exchange. But its parent company, Arsenal Holdings, is traded on the specialist market NEX Exchange. These shares are expensive (£30,000 per share in October 2019) and are very hard to come by.
Rangers stock is not available on a major exchange like the LSE or NYSE. Instead, you can buy Rangers stock from Tifosy, a London-based investment platform that works with professional sports franchises to raise capital. The minimum asking price is around £500 (around $600 USD), and certain eligibility requirements apply.
No, but you can invest in how soccer players perform through apps like DraftKings and FanDuel, which let you make money by correctly predicting player statistics. Note that sports betting apps may not be available in all states.
Manchester United, Borussia Dortmund, Celtic, AS Roma, Juventus, Olympique Lyonnais Groupe, and Parken Sport (FC Copenhagen) are publicly traded.
Some soccer club stocks pay dividends. Celtic FC pays dividends to convertible cumulative preference shareholders. Borussia Dortmund has paid dividends in the past.
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Adam Lewis is a freelance journalist and content editor at Last Word Media, with over 20 years of experience in financial journalism. A five-time award winner, he’s written for a range of specialist trade publications including Portfolio Adviser, Investment Week and Trustnet.
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