Aston Villa co-owners Wes Edens and Nassef Sawiris pictured at Stamford Bridge
Aston Villa co-owners Wes Edens and Nassef Sawiris.
Aston Villa have kept their spot at 22 on Forbes' annual list of the most valuable football clubs in the world.
Villa are said to be worth $900 million, up $100m over the last 12 months, thanks to Champions League football and revenue rising to a whopping $343m.
It makes them the seventh most valuable team in the Premier League and still some way short of Manchester United ($6.6 billion) despite the latter's on-field struggles. Liverpool ($5.4bn), Manchester City ($5.3bn), Arsenal ($3.4bn), Tottenham Hotspur ($3.3bn) and Chelsea ($3.25bn) are all also in the world's top 10.
West Ham United ($1.125bn) and Newcastle United ($1.1bn) are both placed above Villa too while the top spot is taken, for a fourth year in a row, by Real Madrid ($6.75bn). The top three is completed by Barcelona ($5.65bn).
Forbes' analysis shows the significance of broadcast income in their valuation of Villa, with the regular television cash from competing in the Premier League and Europe said to be worth $561m while the Villa brand is said to be worth $109m and their match day offering worth $136m and commercial prospects worth $94m.
There is a nod to the £40m shirt sponsorship deal with Betano but a warning about a forthcoming change to rules.
A statement from Forbes says: "Villa signed a front-of-shirt sponsorship deal with Greek betting platform Betano ahead of the 2024/25 season, set to last two years - before the Premier League’s ban on front-of-shirt gambling sponsors takes effect.
"The agreement is reportedly the largest in the club’s history, totaling £40 million over the two years. BK8, a Malaysian online casino company, was the club’s previous front-of-shirt sponsor."
It is a remarkable turnaround for the club over the last seven years since Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens took the wheel in 2018. Villa have been dragged back from the brink of oblivion to reach the Champions League quarter-finals under Unai Emery.
There are 12 Premier League teams in all in the top 30, plus four from Italy, three from Spain, two from Germany, one from France - and eight from the United States, although none is higher than LAFC at 15 with $1.25bn.
Forbes explains: "The multiples in MLS, where the average team is valued at 9.3 times revenue, suggest more optimism and explain why the LA Galaxy, at $1 billion, are worth $100 million more than Aston Villa of the Premier League despite recording less than a third as much revenue last season ($95 million vs. $343 million).
"Still, even if the growth is slower than in some North American leagues, European teams continue to appreciate."