Forbes’ 2025 valuations underline a simple truth: global sports wealth remains concentrated outside soccer even as the game retains massive global support. Forbes estimates that 20 soccer clubs worldwide carry a value of at least $1 billion, yet when measured against the richest franchises across all sports, soccer clubs are part of the crowd rather than the clear leaders.

Forbes again places the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys top of the list at $13 billion, a figure that represents 29% growth from 2024. The Golden State Warriors ($11 billion), LA Rams ($10.5 billion), New York Giants ($10.1 billion) and LA Lakers ($10 billion) complete the five teams that reach 11-figure valuations in 2025.

Forbes calculates a team’s value as its “enterprise value (equity plus net debt) and include the economics of each team’s stadium but not the value of the stadium real estate itself.” That approach produces a list where the first soccer club appears at 20th overall: Real Madrid is valued at $6.75 billion. That remains an enormous valuation, even if it sits well below the very top of the overall rankings.

Manchester United, despite consistently documented on-field problems and substantial debt, stands at $6.6 billion and is tied for 24th place overall. Barcelona follows at $5.65 billion and 42nd overall. Liverpool creeps inside the global top 50, tied at 48th place with two North American franchises, and is valued at $5.4 billion.

Those four clubs are the only soccer representatives among the 50 most valuable sports teams in the world in 2025. The figures underline how the biggest soccer clubs operate on a huge commercial scale but also how other sports, notably the NFL and elite NBA franchises, continue to lead the global valuation table.

Alexander Isak has acknowledged he does not know why his form at Liverpool has dipped but said he expects the situation to be temporary. The striker, who joined the club in a British record £125 million deal, admitted uncertainty about his struggles while remaining measured about the future.

“I don’t really have the answer to that,” he told Swedish publication Sportbladet. “The team thing—it’s clear that it’s been slow, but that’s how it is in football. There are always teams that are flying, and then it’s slower for others. It’s about turning that around.

“For me too … it’s not the first time in my career that I’ve gone through a period like this, or been in bad shape. That’s how a football career works, it’s just something you have to fight your way out of.”

Isak began the season low on fitness after his attempts to leave Newcastle involved effectively going on strike and refusing to train with his Magpies teammates during the summer. He has scored once in 14 appearances for Liverpool and has been replaced by Hugo Ekitiké on the bench in the last two games. The Reds have won only three league games played in.

Isak pointed to past setbacks in his career as context for his confidence. After a breakout at AIK at 17 and a move to Borussia Dortmund in January 2017 as the most expensive Allsvenskan player at the time, he failed to establish himself there. He went on loan to Willem II and later moved to Real Sociedad, where he rebuilt his reputation. Newcastle signed him for a club-record £63 million in 2022 following his revival in Spain.

“Absolutely [I’m confident],” he said. “That comes with experience. Never too high, never too low. Trying to find that balance, that’s what I feel I’ve gotten better at.”

The arrival of Isak formed part of a wider summer outlay by Liverpool, a transfer commitment reported to total around £450 million, intended to prepare for a post-Klopp era and a future without players who powered previous success. The 2025–26 season has included public debate over established figures; Mohamed Salah was benched by Arne Slot in November and criticised the decision after three games out of the team. Reports have also suggested doubts in some quarters about the summer recruitment, with specific concerns mentioned about Isak and Florian Wirtz.

Arne Slot has sought to draw a clear line under the episode involving Mohamed Salah, saying Liverpool have “moved on” while the forward represents his country at the Africa Cup of Nations.

Salah was initially handed a punishment of one further game out of the matchday squad before restorative talks between Salah and Slot led to the player returning to the squad and appearing off the bench in a 2–0 win over Brighton & Hove Albion. He has since departed for the AFCON, with his representatives expected to hold further talks with Liverpool during his absence to reach a final verdict on his future.

“I said last week, actions speak louder than words,” Slot explained ahead of his side’s meeting with Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday. “We moved on, he was in the squad [against Brighton] and he was the first substitution I made.

“Now he is at the AFCON, playing big games for himself and also for the country, so I think it is fair to them, but definitely also to us because we’re going to play some very important games, that all the focus for him is over there for him and there should be no distractions from me saying anything about his time here at Liverpool .

“We’ve moved on after the Leeds interview and he played against Brighton. He is there, so it is fair for that country and for him and also for us to talk about Tottenham, and other games, and for them to be fully focused on their tournament.”

Despite Slot’s attempt to move the story on, Salah’s future remains unresolved. Reports suggest the forward’s unhappiness extends beyond that benching to frustration with the club’s summer transfer business, which has required tactical adjustments to accommodate struggling team-mates such as Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak.

Slot acknowledged defensive issues and the wider process of evolution within his squad. “That is a question only the future can answer,” he said when asked if his changes to the team have been exploited by rival clubs. He added that Liverpool conceded more chances against Brighton than in the four unbeaten games prior and defended the summer alterations as necessary.

“We are getting closer and closer to the team I want us to be, and it has come with ups and downs, let’s be completely clear about that. For me, that makes sense because [of] all the changes we made during the summer—we made them on purpose, because we felt we needed to.

“If I am completely honest, maybe I didn’t expect it to take as long as it did but, looking back and reflecting on it now, I think I’ve been too positive. If you go with a new group where not all of them are completely ready to play every single game, 90 minutes in this intensity, you have to adapt and it takes maybe a bit of time.”