American money pours into Europe’s soccer giants as club valuations soar

That now includes four of the traditional Big Six s, with Chelsea, rpool, Manchester United and Arsenal all attracting U.S. investment

Rapid growth in revenues has been the key attraction.In the 1996-97 season, when the Premier League was established in England, revenues across the five biggest European leagues totaled 2.5 billion euros, according to Deloitte analysis.In 2023-24, that figure ballooned by 750%.That growth has led to sharp increases in valuations for Europe's biggest soccer teams

In 2024, a minority stake sale to billionaire Jim Ratcliffe pegged the at around £5 billion, or the biggest valuation in world soccer.Kieran Maguire, associate fessor in football finance at the University of rpool, told CNBC on Wednesday that the rising levels of U.S. ownership in European soccer have been driven by higher wealth aggregation Stateside."It's actually a bit of a no brainer … what else you can do with your cash? You can only have so many helicopters, you can only have so many super yachts."According to Maguire, the small number of top fessional sports teams available to purchase has also contributed to rising demand, with investors unable to meet the multi-billion dollar price attached to NFL or NBA teams in the U.S. looking to European soccer as an alternative.Private equityMore than 36 of s in Europe's five biggest leagues now have private equity, venture capital or private debt participation through majority or minority stakes, including a majority of s in the Premier League, according to PitchBook re

Speaking to CNBC, PitchBook Senior EMEA Private Capital Analyst Nicolas Moura said many U.S. investors want to "build a variety of different football s," and that the model can have marketing and financial benefits.But the increasing prevalence of multi- ownership has risked the ire of regulators, with Moura saying that European soccer body UEFA is "starting to crack down on s."This summer, England's Crystal Palace was barred from participating in UEFA's Europa League competition due to a breach of multi- ownership rules

American man John Textor owns a stake in the English as well as in France's Lyon, which also qualified for the competition.Moura says the decision — which Crystal Palace labelled as an "injustice" — could become more of an issue as more s involved in multi- structures move into Europe's top divisions.watch now10:0510:05Private equity firms are building up their stakes in soccerSquawk Box EuropeWhat's next?The growth of soccer revenues has slowed in recent years, with Deloitte saying it sees income "plateauing" in the 2025-26 season on the back of slowing growth in the value of sports media rights.That has left commercial revenue — up 6% in the 2023-24 season, per Deloitte — as a main driver, as s clinched new sponsorship deals and looked to utilize stadiums for non-soccer events.Moura says lots of U.S. private equity investors are "looking to do their stands, their entire stadiums" in a bid to diversify away from broadcast income.The for growth in commercial and match day revenues could see more s holding regular matches overseas

Spain's La Liga will take its first regular season game abroad this season, as current champions Barcelona prepare to play Villareal in Miami

Italy's Serie A is also considering an international game, with the country's governing body apving plans for a match in Australia

Until now, games in domestic leagues have not been allowed to be played outside of their country, with global governing body FIFA considering a formal change to its rules on overseas matches

Maguire says Premier League s will eventually look to hold games overseas to compete with rival European leagues, and that the money generated will mean games "will be sold to the fan base … effectively as a fait accompli."The Premier League has not publicly entertained the idea of taking regular season games out of England, with CEO Richard Masters telling CNBC the league is "very different" from American peers when it comes to international games.watch now22:4122:41CNBC Sport: Premier League CEO Richard Masters on the future of global soccerCNBC Sport