Liverpool FC has been listed as the fourth-most valuable soccer team in the world, after a stunning debut season under head coach Arne Slot helped retain their status as a global heavyweight.
The Reds received $244.5 million in prize money for winning the Premier League title, and an additional $112 million in Champions League payments despite an early exit from the competition. Liverpool has also shown its intentions to establish an era of dominance, after submitting a package worth $150 million to Bayer Leverkusen for talented midfielder Florian Wirtz.
Liverpool has been dealt a blow despite the success this season, after Real Madrid convinced Trent Alexander-Arnold to leave the club and run down his contract. However, Liverpool did extend both Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk, and Forbes has estimated that the club is worth $5.4 billion in 2025.
In addition to the current valuation of Liverpool, Forbes estimates that the club generated $773 million in revenue last season. Liverpool has already pledged $190 million ahead of the summer transfer window, with the offer for Wirtz still outstanding, and a $40 million deal for fellow Leverkusen star Jeremie Frimpong also close to completion.
Liverpool is looking to get its business done early, but the books may be balanced later in the window as Caoimhin Kelleher, Darwin Nunez, and Harvey Elliott are all linked with summer departures. Liverpool has also negotiated an $11.3 million payment from Madrid, who wanted to sign Alexander-Arnold earlier than expected.
Madrid agreed to pay Liverpool a significant fee so that Alexander-Arnold could play at the Club World Cup this summer. While it's still well below Alexander-Arnold's current market value, it also allows Liverpool to save money on wages and bonuses that would have been paid before his contract ends on June 30.
Alexander-Arnold's new club, Madrid, has been listed as the most valuable soccer team in the world and set a new record during the 2023-24 season. Madrid has been valued at $6.75 billion, and became the second team across all sports to generate over $1 billion in revenue within a single season.
Trent Alexander-Arnold has officially completed his move to Real Madrid
Trent Alexander-Arnold has officially completed his move to Real Madrid (Image: Michael Regan/Getty Images/Getty Images For The Premier League)
Madrid's $1.129 billion revenue is unprecedented in soccer, with Manchester City's $901 million revenue in 2023-24 the previous record. The only other sports team in the world to generate over $1 billion in a single season is the Dallas Cowboys, who enjoyed a profitable year in the NFL back in 2021 before repeating their success in 2023.
Behind Madrid is Manchester United, who rank second despite their major struggles in recent years. Forbes estimates that United is worth $6.6 billion and generated $834 million last season, but their position could be under threat after missing out on European soccer.
Barcelona ranks just ahead of Liverpool in third, with a $5.65 billion valuation. City complete the top five with a $5.3 billion valuation, with Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain placing ahead of Arsenal, Tottenham, and Chelsea.
Liverpool is thriving in the current Premier League era, and their value could increase if more success comes its way. After winning the Premier League title, Slot has made it clear to the squad that they will be pushing even harder next season.
Arne Slot is pushing for continued success next season
Arne Slot is pushing for continued success next season (Image: Sebastian Frej/Getty Images)
"Hopefully that appetite will be big but we will see this when the pre-season starts and when we start again," Slot said of his intentions for next season. "A few of them have already shown that they can win multiple times. I'm talking about the ones that have won the league and the Champions League here before and these are also the players that just keep on performing year after year after year, even if they don't win it.
"A few of them now won the league for the first time and they have to show that they have the same mentality as the ones that have won it here before. I'm looking forward to being part of that. We know it's going to be tough again. It was already very tough this season.
"It's going be probably just as tough or even tougher next season because the club that we've competed with this season have in every window always invested a lot of money and they're probably going to do so this summer as well. We did things differently last season.
"I don't think it has been said a lot but maybe I'm completely wrong because the one that told me maybe lied to me, but he said to me that since Alex Ferguson won the league, the last time he won the league, not a team has had so many academy minutes as our academy players had this season. So that's been really special.
"Apart from signing Federico Chiesa last summer, we didn't do a lot, and that makes it maybe even more special to win it this season. Now we will see if the team needs. We can do things better already by ourselves without adding any players. But if we can then we will definitely do so."