14 Feb, 2020 16:49

The rich list: Paris Saint Germain topple Manchester City as the world's most financially powerful club

Ligue 1 champions Paris Saint Germain (PSG) have unseated Premier League giants Manchester City as the most financially powerful club in world football, according to the annual Soccerex Football Finance 100 report.

The report, which indexes the world's richest football clubs using a formula based on the value of their existing squad, the club's overall assets, the finances available in their bank accounts and their potential for owner investment and net debt, listed PSG at the top of the table with an index score of 5.318.

The reduction of the French side's debt by $75.87 million helped PSG overhaul City, whose own debt increased by more than $97 million over the same one-year period.

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Bayern Munich were listed third in the table, with Tottenham Hotspur fourth and La Liga giants Real Madrid fifth. Meanwhile, the perceived depreciation of Manchester United's squad and increased debt saw the Old Trafford side fall from eighth in 2019 to 16th in 2020.

One interesting finding from the list is that, despite the fact that European teams occupy 30% of the top 30 places in the list, almost half of those clubs are actually owned by non-European entities, including companies and individuals from the Middle East, South East Asia and North America.

"This year's report paints a positive picture of football's collective financial health, but it also highlights the growing imbalance between the power of Europe's modern elite, with some of the game's heritage brands in danger of being left behind," said Soccerex managing director Philip Gegan.

"Despite Europe's dominance, football is very much a global game with investment from football's emerging markets very much underpinning its continued growth."

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The English Premier League is the most-represented league in the Top 100 list with 18, with the United States' Major League Soccer (MLS) perhaps surprisingly second on the list, with 17 clubs. The highest-rated MLS side on the list was Los Angeles FC (LAFC), who appeared at No. 18 on the list, four spots above cross-town rivals Los Angeles Galaxy in 22nd.