Forbes’s latest estimate of the most valuable football teams shows that crack La Liga sides Real Madrid and Barcelona are occupying the first two places in the top-20 list.
There are five English clubs in the top 10 rich teams list – 3. Manchester United $2.81 billion; 5. Arsenal $1.33 billion; 6. Chelsea $868 million; 7. Manchester City $863 million; and 10. Liverpool $691 million.
Despite all the income generated over the past few years, 13 of the 20 Premier League clubs this summer decided to increase their match tickets, taking more cash from the fans’ pockets.
The average price of a season ticket for a top-flight side now stands at £526.
The highest prices are those of Manchester City (£860 – 10 per cent rise); Liverpool (£869 – 2%); Chelsea (£1,250 – no change); Arsenal (£2,013 – 3%) and Everton (£719 – 3%).
The other clubs to increase their ticket prices were Aston Villa, Leicester, Newcastle, Stoke City, Burnley, QPR, Hull, Crystal Palace and Southampton.
Arsenal
Manager: Arsene Wenger.
Ins: Alexis Sanchez, fwd from Barcelona − £35m. Mathieu Debuchy, def from Newcastle − ₤12m. David Ospina, gk from Nice − ₤3m. Calum Chambers, def from Southampton − ₤16m.
Aston Villa
Manager: Paul Lambert.
Ins: Tom Leggett, def from Southampton − free. Isaac Nehemie, def from Southampton. Joe Cole, mf from West Ham − free. Philippe Senderos, def from Valencia − free. Kieran Richardson, mf from Fulham. Aly Cissokho, def from Valencia − ₤5m.
Burnley
Manager: Sean Dyche.
Ins: Michael Kightly, fwd from Stoke. Matt Gilks, gk from Blackpool − free. Marvin Sordell, fwd from Bolton Wanderers. Matt Taylor, mf from West Ham − free. Steven Reid, mf from West Brom − free. Lukas Jutkiewicz, fwd from Middlesbrough − ₤1.5m.
Chelsea
Manager: Jose Mourinho.
Ins: Cesc Fabregas, mf from Barcelona − ₤30m. Diego Costa, fwd from Atletico Madrid − ₤32m. Mario Pasalic, mf from Hajduk Split − ₤3m. Filipe Luis, def from A. Madrid − ₤15.8m. Didier Drogba, fwd from Galatasaray − free.
Crystal Palace
Manager: Tony Pulis.
Ins: Chris Kettings, gk from Blackpool − free. Brede Hangeland, def from Fulham − free.
Everton
Manager: Roberto Martinez.
Ins: Gareth Barry, mf from Man. City − free. Muhamed Besic, mf from Ferencvaros − ₤4.8m. Romelu Lukaku, fwd from Chelsea − ₤28m. Brendan Galloway, def from MK Dons − ₤1m.
Hull City
Manager: Steve Bruce.
Ins: Robert Snodgrass, mf from Norwich − ₤7m. Jake Livermore, mf from Tottenham − ₤8m. Tom Ince, mf from Blackpool − free. Andrew Robertson, defender from Dundee Utd − ₤2.85m. Harry Maguire, def from Sheff. United − ₤2.5m.
Leicester City
Manager: Nigel Pearson.
Ins: Jack Barmby, mf from Man. United − free. Matthew Upson, def from Brighton. Ben Hamer, gk from Leicester. Louis Rowley, def from Man. Utd − free. Leonardo Ulloa, fwd from Brighton − ₤8m.
Liverpool
Manager: Brendan Rodgers.
Ins: Rickie Lambert, fwd from Southampton − ₤4m. Lawrence Vigouroux, gk from Tottenham − free. Kevin Stewart, def from Tottenham − free. Adam Lallana, mf from Southampton − ₤25m. Emre Can, mf from Bayer Leverkusen – ₤10m. Lazar Markovic, fwd from Benfica ₤20m. Dejan Lovren, def from Southampton – ₤20m. Divock Origi, fwd from Lille – ₤10m (loaned back). Javier Manquillo, def from Atletico Madrid – loan.
Manchester City
Manager: Manuel Pellegrini.
Ins: Fernando, mf from Porto − ₤12m. Bacary Sagna, def from Arsenal − free. Willy Caballero, gk from Malaga − ₤6m. Frank Lampard, mf from New York City − loan. Bruno Zuculini, mf from R. Club − ₤3m.
Manchester United
Manager: Louis van Gaal.
Ins: Vanja Milinkovic, gk from FC Vojvodina (loaned back). Luke Shaw, def from Southampton − ₤31m. Ander Herrera, mf from Athletic Bilbao − ₤29m.
Newcastle United
Manager: Alan Pardew.
In: Jack Colback, def from Sunderland − free. Ayoze Perez, fwd from Tenerife. Siem de Jong, fwd from Ajax − ₤6m. Remy Cabella, mf from Montpellier − ₤10m. Em-manuel Riviere, mf from Monaco − ₤6m. Daryl Janmaat, def from Feyenoord − ₤6m. Facundo Ferreyra, fwd from Shakhtar Donetsk − loan.
Queens Park Rangers
Manager: Harry Redknapp.
Ins: Rio Ferdinand, from Manchester United − free. Steven Caulker, def from Cardiff − undisclosed. Jordan Mutch, fwd from Cardiff − ₤6m. Mauricio Isla, def from Juventus − loan.
Southampton
Manager: Ronald Koeman.
Ins: Dusan Tadic, mf from FC Twente − ₤10.9m. Graziano Pelle, fwd from Feyenoord − ₤8m. Ryan Bertrand, def from Chelsea − loan. Saphir Taider, mf from Inter − loan.
Stoke City
Manager: Mark Hughes.
Ins: Phil Bardsley, def from Sunderland − free. Mame Biram Diouf, fwd from Hanover − free. Steve Sidwell, mf from Fulham − free. Dionatan Teixeira, def from Bansky Bystrica. Bojan Krkic, fwd from Barcelona.
Sunderland
Manager: Gustavo Poyet.
Ins: Jordi Gomez, mf from Wigan − free. Billy Jones, def from West Brom − free. Castel Pantilimon, gk from Manchester City − free. Patrick van Aanholt, def from Chelsea − ₤1.5m. Jack Rodwell, mf from Manchester City − ₤10m. Santiago Vergini, def from Estudiantes − loan.
Swansea City
Manager: Gary Monk.
Ins: Lukasz Fabianski, gk from Arsenal − free. Bafetimbi Gomis, fwd from Lyon − free. Marvin Emnes, fwd from Middlesbrough. Gylfi Sigurdsson, mf from Tottenham − ₤10m. Jefferson Monterom fwd from Monarcas Mortelia − ₤6.8m.
Tottenham Hotspur
Manager: Mauricio Pochettino.
Ins: Michel Vorm, gk from Swansea − ₤5m. Ben Davies, def from Swansea − ₤10m. Eric Dier, def from Sporting Lisbon − ₤4m.
West Bromwich Albion
Manager: Alan Irvine.
Ins: Craig Gardner, def from Sunderland − free. Joleon Lescott, def from Manchester City − free. Chris Baird, def from Burnley − free. Sebastien Pocognoli, def from Hanover − ₤1.5m. Brown Ideye, fwd from Dynamo Kiev − ₤10m. Andre Wisdom, def from Liverpool − loan. Cristian Gamboa, def from Rosenborg − ₤2m. Jason Davidson, def from Heracles.
West Ham United
Manager: Sam Allardyce.
Ins: Mario Zarate, fwd from Velez Sarsfield − ₤1m. Cheikhou Kouyate, mf from Anderlecht − ₤7.2m. Aaron Cresswell, def from Ipswich − ₤4m. Diego Poyet, mf from Charlton. Enner Valencia, fwd from Pachuca − ₤12m. Carl Jenkinson, def from Arsenal − loan.