Thirteen MLS clubs made SoccerEx’s Football Finance 100 list for 2018, with six teams making the top 30 of the annual rankings of financial might among global soccer clubs.
The LA Galaxy (14), New York Red Bulls (23), Seattle Sounders (24), New York City FC (25) and New England Revolution (28) were the six MLS teams that made the top 30 of the rankings, the most clubs in the top 30 of any league apart from the English Premier League. Orlando City (37), Toronto FC (42), Houston Dynamo (44), Portland Timbers (45), Sporting Kansas City (54), San Jose Earthquakes (57), Colorado Rapids (58) and the Chicago Fire (59) were the other seven MLS clubs in the top 100.
SoccerEx worked with independent academics to compile the list, which analyzed the assets of each club, their economic power for future investments and their net debts. For the 2018 rankings, SoccerEx analyzed the 2015-16 financial year, meaning newer MLS clubs like Atlanta, Minnesota and LAFC were not eligible to be included.
The final rankings were compiled by assigning a weight to and adding together the following four factors: 1) Playing assets 2) Fixed assets (stadium, training centers, etc.) 3) Cash in the bank and 4) Owner’s potential investment. The club’s net debt was then subtracted from that weighted sum.
Manchester City, the sister club of NYCFC, and Arsenal, whose majority shareholder is Colorado Rapids owner Stan Kroenke, were the first and second ranked clubs.
The full rankings and methodology can be found here.
