- FC BARCELONA (120 MILLIONS) https://instagram.com/fcbarcelona?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
Futbol Club Barcelona commonly referred to as Barcelona and colloquially known as Barça is a professional football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of Spanish football.
Founded in 1899 by a group of Swiss, Catalan, German, and English footballers led by Joan Gamper, the club has become a symbol of Catalan culture and Catalanism, hence the motto “Més que un club” (“More than a club”). Unlike many other football clubs, the supporters own and operate Barcelona. It is the fourth-most valuable sports team in the world, worth $4.76 billion, and the world’s fourth richest football club in terms of revenue, with an annual turnover of €582.1 million.The official Barcelona anthem is the “Cant del Barça”, written by Jaume Picas and Josep Maria Espinàs. Barcelona traditionally play in dark shades of blue and garnet stripes, hence nicknamed Blaugrana.
Domestically, Barcelona has won a record 76 trophies: 26 La Liga, 31 Copa del Rey, fourteen Supercopa de España, three Copa Eva Duarte, and two Copa de la Liga titles, as well as being the record holder for the latter four competitions. In international club football, the club has won 17 European and worldwide titles: five UEFA Champions League titles, a record four UEFA Cup Winners’ Cups, a joint record five UEFA Super Cops, and three FIFA Club World Cups. Barcelona was ranked first in the International Federation of Football History & Statistics Club World Ranking for 1997, 2009, 2011, 2012 and 2015, and occupies the seventh position on the UEFA club rankings as of February 2023. The club has a long-standing rivalry with Real Madrid, and matches between the two teams are referred to as El Clásico.
Barcelona is one of the most widely supported teams in the world, and the club has one of the largest social media following in the world among sports teams. Barcelona players have won a record twelve Ballon d’Or awards, with recipients including Johan Cruyff, as well as a record seven FIFA World Player of the Year awards, with winners including Romário, Ronaldo, Rivaldo and Ronaldinho. In 2010, three players who came through the club’s youth academy (Lionel Messi, Andrés Iniesta and Xavi) were chosen as the three best players in the world in the FIFA Ballon d’Or awards, an unprecedented feat for players from the same football academy. Additionally, players representing the club have won a record eight European Golden Shoe awards.
Barcelona is one of three founding members of the Primera División that have never been relegated from the top division since its inception in 1929, along with Athletic Bilbao and Real Madrid. In 2009, Barcelona became the first Spanish club to win the continental treble consisting of La Liga, Copa del Rey, and the UEFA Champions League, and also became the first Spanish football club to win six out of six competitions in a single year, by also winning the Spanish Super Cup, UEFA Super Cup, and FIFA Club World Cup. In 2011, the club became European champions again, winning five trophies. This Barcelona team, which won fourteen trophies in just four years under Pep Guardiola, is considered by some in the sport to be the greatest team of all time. By winning their fifth Champions League trophy in 2015 under Luis Enrique, Barcelona became the first European football club in history to achieve the continental treble twice.
2. ROYAL CHALLENGERS BANGALORE (10.6 MILLIONS) https://instagram.com/royalchallengersbangalore?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
Royal Challengers Bangalore (often abbreviated as RCB) are a franchise cricket team based in Bengaluru, Karnataka, that plays in the Indian Premier League (IPL). It was founded in 2008 by United Spirits and named after the company’s liquor brand Royal Challenge.
The Royal Challengers have not won the IPL but finished runners-up on three occasions between 2009 and 2016. The team holds the records of both the highest and the lowest totals in the IPL – 263/5 and 49 respectively.
3. REAL MADRID (137 MILLIONS) https://instagram.com/realmadrid?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
Real Madrid Club de Fútbol commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid who have been playing in La Liga since 1929.
Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the club has traditionally worn a white home kit since its inception. The honorific title real is Spanish for “royal” and was bestowed to the club by King Alfonso XIII in 1920 together with the royal crown in the emblem. Real Madrid have played their home matches in the 81,044-capacity Santiago Bernabéu Stadium in downtown Madrid since 1947. Unlike most European sporting entities, Real Madrid’s members (socios) have owned and operated the club throughout its history. The club is one of the most widely supported in the world, and was estimated to be worth $5.1 billion in 2022, making it the world’s most valuable football team. In 2021, it was the second highest-earning football club in the world, with an annual revenue of €640.7 million. Real Madrid is the most successful soccer club on social media, having the most followers among all the popular social media platforms.
Being one of the three founding members of La Liga that have never been relegated from the top division since its inception in 1929 (along with Athletic Bilbao and Barcelona), Real Madrid holds many long-standing rivalries, most notably El Clásico with Barcelona and El Derbi Madrileño with Atlético Madrid. The club established itself as a major force in both Spanish and European football during the 1950s and 60s, winning five consecutive and six overall European Cups and reaching a further two finals. This success was replicated on the domestic front, with Madrid winning twelve league titles in the span of 16 years. This team, which included Alfredo Di Stéfano, Ferenc Puskás, Francisco Gento, and Raymond Kopa, is considered by some in the sport to be the greatest of all time. Real Madrid is known for its Galácticos policy, which involves signing the world’s best players, such as Ronaldo, Zidane, and David Beckham, to create a superstar team. On 26 June 2009, Madrid signed Cristiano Ronaldo for a record breaking £80 million (€94 million); he became both the club and history’s all-time top goalscorer.
Real Madrid was recognised as the best football club of the 20th century by FIFA and as the best European club during the same timeframe by the IFFHS, whilst also receiving the FIFA Centennial Order of Merit in 2004. Real Madrid is the only club to have won three consecutive titles also known as three-peat in European Cup/Champions League twice, first in 1955–56, 1956–57, and 1957–58, and second in 2015–16, 2016–17, and 2017–18. In May 2022, they won a record-extending fourteenth Champions League title, making it five titles in the last nine seasons, which were recognized by the Guinness World Records. Real Madrid is the first club across all of Europe’s top five leagues to win 100 trophies in all competitions. As of March 2023, Real Madrid are ranked fifth in the UEFA club rankings.
4. CHENNAI SUPER KINGS (11.9 MILLIONS) https://instagram.com/chennaiipl?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
Chennai Super Kings (CSK) is an Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise cricket team based in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. Founded in 2008, the team plays its home matches at the M. A. Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. The team is owned by India Cements Limited through the Chennai Super Kings Cricket Limited holding company. The team was suspended for two years from the IPL starting July 2015 due to the involvement of its owners in the 2013 IPL betting case, and won the title in its comeback season of 2018. The team is captained by MS Dhoni and coached by Stephen Fleming. In January 2022, CSK became India’s first unicorn sports enterprise.
The Super Kings have won the IPL title four times (in 2010, 2011, 2018, and 2021), and have the highest win percentage of matches among all teams in the IPL (58.98%). They hold the records of most appearances in the playoffs (eleven) and the Final (nine) of the IPL.
In addition, they have also won the Champions League Twenty20 in 2010 and 2014. The brand value of the Super Kings in 2019 is estimated to be around ₹732 crore (roughly $104 million), making them one of the most valuable IPL franchises.
5. MUMBAI INDIANS (11.9 MILLIONS) https://instagram.com/mumbaiindians?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
Mumbai Indians are a franchise cricket team based in Mumbai, Maharashtra, that competes in the Indian Premier League and is the most successful team of the tournament with 5 titles. Founded in 2008, the team is owned by India’s biggest conglomerate, Reliance Industries, through its 100% subsidiary Indiawin Sports. Since its establishment, the team has played its home matches in the 33,108-capacity Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
In 2017, the Mumbai Indians became the first franchise to cross the $100 million mark in brand value among the IPL franchises.
The brand value of Mumbai Indians, in 2019, is estimated to be around ₹809 crore (roughly $115 million), the highest among all the IPL franchises for the fourth consecutive year.
Mumbai Indians won the 2011 Champions League Twenty20 after beating Royal Challengers Bangalore by 31 runs in the final. The team won the double by winning its first IPL title, in 2013, by defeating Chennai Super Kings by 23 runs in the final, and then defeated the Rajasthan Royals by 33 runs to win its second Champions League Twenty20 title later that year. They won their second IPL title on 24 May 2015 by defeating the Chennai Super Kings by 41 runs in the final and became the third team to win more than one IPL title. On 21 May 2017, they won their third IPL title by defeating the Rising Pune Supergiant by 1 run in a thrilling final, thus becoming the first team to win three IPL titles.While playing the tournament, they won their 100th T20, becoming the first team to do so. In 2019, they repeated the same feat as they won a record breaking fourth IPL title, by beating CSK by just 1 run on 12 May 2019 in the IPL Final. They became the first team to win the IPL title for the fifth time, by beating Delhi Capitals by 5 wickets on 10 November 2020 in the IPL Final.
Mumbai Indians are currently captained by Rohit Sharma. Mahela Jayawardene was appointed as head coach of Mumbai Indians before the 2017 season. Sharma is the leading run scorer of the team while Lasith Malinga is the leading wicket taker of the team.
