West Ham United FC has been valued at £455million by a new report - firing the club into the European top 20.
A report released by Football Benchmark today lists West Ham as Europe's 16th most valuable club based upon each team's 'Enterprise Value' - a figure calculated by the sum of the market value of the owners’ equity plus total debt, less cash and cash equivalents.Other factors such as the ratio of player and employee salaries to sales, squad value, popularity on social media and shares of broadcasting rights are also taken into account.
To be included in the list, which ranks the continent's 32 most valuable clubs, each club must be among the top 50 European teams by total operating revenues and among the top 50 teams according to the five-year UEFA coefficient - or if it is among the top 30 European teams by number of social media followers.
And after one season out of the top 32, West Ham return to the list in 16th place - along with fellow newcomers Aston Villa and Eintracht Frankfurt, who knocked the Hammers out of last season's Europa League at the semi final stage. They replace former Bundesliga side FC Schalke, who were relegated to the second tier, Turkish giants Fenerbahce and Ligue 1's Marseille.
West Ham's return, according to the report, was largely contingent on "gains in their social media following, linked to their improved sporting results," - with the Hammers qualifying for the Europa League group phase for the first time ever.
The Premier League accounts for nearly one third of the clubs listed - 10 out of the 32 - and also accounts for 42% of the total EV. Yet three of those - Manchester United, Everton and Arsenal - have seen their value drop in the last five years. The big five leagues - England, France, Spain, Italy and Germany - took 28 of the 32 available slots.
Yet West Ham's brand valuation, which has a mid point of £455million, still falls some considerable way short of the £600million it was tentatively valued at by the club's current owners. The full report may be seen here.
Who's in the top 32? By club (EV)
1. Real Madrid (Spain): £2.68bn
2. Manchester Utd (England): £2.43bn
3. Barcelona (Spain): £2.37bn
4. Bayern Munich (Germany): £2.31bn
5. Liverpool (England): £2.15bn
6. Man City (England): £2.09bn
7. Chelsea (England): £1.83bn
8. Paris St Germain (France): £1.78bn
9. Tottenham (England): £1.61bn
10. Juventus (Italy): £1.34bn
11. Arsenal (England): £1.33bn
12. Atletico Madrid (Spain): £1.04bn
13. Borussia Dortmund (Germany): £1.03bn
14. Inter (Italy): £838m
15. AC Milan (Italy): £578m
16. West Ham Utd (England): £455m
17. Leicester City (England): £442m
18. Napoli (Italy): £407m
19. Ajax (Nertherlands): £398m
20. Lyon (France): £384m
21. Atalanta (Italy): £382m
22. Everton (England): £379m
23. Eintracht Frankfurt (Germany): £361m
24. Roma (Italy): £347m
25. Seville (Spain): £328m
26. Valencia (Spain): £324m
27. Galatasary (Turkey): £290m
28. Benfica (Portugal): £274m
29. Porto (Portugal): £261m
30. Aston Villa (England): £259m
31. Villareal (Spain): £255m
32. Lazio (Italy): £254m
Who's in the top 32? By nation
England (Premier League): 10 clubs - average value £1.54bn (42% of total EV)
Italy (Serie A): 7 clubs - average value £689m (13%)
Spain (La Liga): 6 clubs - average value £1.36bn (22%)
Germany (Bundesliga): 3 clubs - average value £1.47bn (12%)
France (Ligue 1): 2 clubs - average value £1.29bn (7%)
Portugal (Liga Portugal): 2 clubs - average value £318m (2%)
Netherlands (Eredivisie): 1 club - average value £473m (1%)
Turkey (Super Lig): 1 club - average value £344m (11%)
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