Many football fans fall in love with a club at a young age and follow their team for the rest of their lives. It is a bond between club and fan that often cannot be broken. Football supporters go through life feeling as though the club they support is a part of their identity and their life, so the successes and failures become their own.
Football fans spend on average £1,888 each for following their team during the 2019/20 season. With such a deep love, wouldn’t it be great if the average fan could influence the decisions made at their club?
Some fan-owned clubs do just that, while government-owned clubs like Real Madrid give fans voting rights. Publicly traded clubs, on the other hand, allow fans to invest in their team and buy shares on the stock market.
While it might not give the average fan a controlling stake in their club, they can at least own a little slice of the team they support. So, let’s take a closer look at publicly traded football clubs and which teams have floated themselves on the stock market.
Are Any Football Clubs Publicly Traded?
Some of the biggest clubs in the world are publicly traded with perhaps the most famous example being Manchester United. However, the English powerhouses aren’t alone and other publicly traded football clubs include Juventus, AS Roma, Borussia Dortmund and Celtic.
A publicly-traded company is a corporation or business that has sold its shares on a public stock exchange like the New York or London Stock Exchanges. Those shares must have been offered to the general public in an initial public offering. With anyone initially free to purchase shares in the business, or in this case football club, those willing to invest more money gain more control.
Football clubs that float themselves on the stock market can be open to investment but it’s tough to buy enough to start affecting decisions at the board level. Typically it would require investing millions in a football club to get to such a high level. Unfortunately, with such a large investment required to take controlling shares of a club, fans looking to oust bad owners can’t just buy them out.
There is also the issue of stock availability. While it’s possible to buy shares in a club on an individual basis, controlling shares in a club are another matter. If someone doesn’t want to sell their shares there is no way to get them from them, especially if they are controlling shares.
Which Football Clubs Are Publicly Listed on the Stock Exchange?
Shares in some of the best-known football clubs are available to purchase in public stock exchanges. Manchester United was famously floated on the New York Stock Exchange in the 2000s, much to the dismay of the fans. Other famous publicly-traded clubs include Juventus, Celtic and Borussia Dortmund.
Ajax is another club with shares available to buy through the stock exchange, meaning anyone wanting to be a part of this club’s rich history can buy into it. But, is buying shares in a football club seen as a good investment?
Shares in football clubs, just like other businesses, fluctuate. In football clubs, the share price changes depending on the value of the team. For instance, shares in Manchester United in January 2022 were valued at $14.21 while shares in Celtic are valued at $1.37.
This large gap in share value just goes to show the difference in how much Manchester United is worth versus Celtic. Despite both clubs having a rich history in the sport, Manchester United’s commercial pulling power sees its shares worth more than 10 times that of Celtic’s.
Factors that Affect Football Stock Prices
Football stock prices are prone to fluctuations due to the public nature of their performance. Several factors affect football club stock prices with the largest being supply and demand. The greater the demand or lower the supply then typically the greater the stock price. Conversely, low demand or high supply makes the stock price for football clubs lower.
Other factors that influence football club stock prices are:
- Team financials – such as debt
- Game results
- Signing or selling players
- Public scandals
- Sponsorships
Where to Buy Shares in Publicly Traded Football Clubs
As mentioned previously, stocks in some of the world’s largest football clubs are available on stock exchanges from different parts of the globe. Shares in Manchester United, for instance, are available on the New York Stock Exchange which may be a surprise given that the London Stock Exchange exists. The club delisted itself from London’s stock exchange in favour of the American market and the New York Stock Exchange.
See where to buy shares in publicly traded football clubs below:
| Team | Stock Exchange |
| Manchester United | New York Stock Exchange |
| Juventus | Borsa Italiana |
| AS Roma | Borsa Italiana |
| Borussia Dortmund | Frankfurt Stock Exchange |
| Celtic | London Stock Exchange |
| Lazio | Borsa Italiana |
| Ajax | Amsterdam Stock Exchange |
| Benfica | Euronext Lisbon |
| Sporting CP | Euronext Lisbon |
| FC Porto | Euronext Lisbon |
How to Buy Shares in Publicly Listed Football Clubs
The good news for anyone looking to invest in publicly listed football clubs is that it’s relatively easy to do. You just need to open a brokerage account on a share trading platform and put in enough funds to get started.
Look for available stock in your club of choice or other businesses that you may have an interest in. Once you have found the shares you think are worth investing in purchase as many as you would like or can afford.
When the shares are yours it’s now time to follow your investment and decide whether it’s worth selling or holding on to. As the price of your football club shares fluctuate you can find yourself making money or losing it, the risk is all yours!
- Find a share trading platform (e.g. eToro)
- Open a brokerage account
- Put funds into your account
- Search for available stock, for example, Manchester United stocks go by the stock name ‘MANU’
- Purchase as many shares as you would like
- Follow your investment and decide if it’s worth selling or keeping
Football Clubs on eToro:
If you’d like to buy shares in a football club, you can easily do so on eToro, which offers 0% commission (meaning you won’t be charged any additional fees).
You can currently buy stocks in the following clubs on eToro:
- Manchester United (MANU)
- Juventus (JUVE.MI)
