Celtic has joined the list of Europe's most valuable football clubs compiled by accountants KPMG.

The Glasgow club is was given an enterprise value of 252 million euros in a list topped by Real Madrid at 3.2 billion euros. It is the first time Scotland has featured in KPMG's list.

The Spanish team, who have won the Champions League three times in a row, leapfrogged Manchester United, at 3.2 billion euros. into top spot. Bayern Munich was third at 2.69 billion euros, overtaking by Barcelona at 2.67 billion euros and Manchester City at 2.46 billion euros.


Manchester United had spent three years at the top of the list. KPMG said the aggregate enterprise value (EV) of the top 32 clubs had increased by 9% year on year, a significantly faster growth than Europe’s economy in general.

Both Champions League finalists, Liverpool and Tottenham, have increased their value by over 30% year on year, the second and third biggest growth of the list, and Manchester City has grown by 14% in the last 12 months.

Galatasaray's 26% drop in EV was the largest in the ranking and coincides with massive inflation in Turkey

Olympique Lyonnais boast the highest (+150%) overall increase over the three years since the report was introduced, followed by Tottenham Hotspur (+110%)

Andrea Sartori, KPMG’s global head of sports and the author of the football clubs’ valuation report series, said: “For the third consecutive year, the overall EV of the 32 most prominent European football clubs has increased by 9% (35% over the past three years).


"This growth rate is in contrast with the overall trend of the major European Stock Exchanges, notably the STOXX Europe 50 Index1, showing a year-on-year decrease of -13% (-9% from 2016), and demonstrating the different pace at which the football industry is evolving. The transition of major clubs into media and entertainment companies, with global brand exposure, also helps create more stable and predictable cash flows and consequently better warranties to investors and financiers.

"It comes as no surprise, that such remarkable growth has heated the debate concerning the transformation of European clubs’ competition structure. However, the stakeholders involved do not necessarily share the same interests and instead have opposing positions that are likely to make future decisions even more challenging."