How Much Does It Cost to Buy a Soccer Team?

Buying a soccer team can be a great investment with its growing popularity in the U.S. But how much does it cost to buy a soccer team? We have the answers.

It will cost you approximately $100,000 to $1 billion to buy a soccer team. The actual cost will depend on the division it’s playing in. If it’s in the elite divisions, you can expect to spend upwards of $100 million. And if it’s in the amateur leagues, you can buy one for less than $1 million.

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Overview

If you love soccer and you have some money to spare and ambition, then buying a soccer team can be a great investment. With the right management, your soccer team may rise to the highest levels of football. And, this will eventually lead to considerable returns in investment down the road.

But like any other investment, you will need money to buy a soccer team. And, you may be probably asking yourself how much it will cost you to buy one. Well, we’ve conducted extensive research on this topic and the answers are right here. With that said, let’s get to it.

How Much Does It Cost to Buy a Soccer Team?

Unless you are looking to acquire a local soccer team that has no ownership structures, buying a professional or semi-professional soccer team will cost you money. But, how much can you expect to spend on this purchase? Well, the amount it will cost to buy a soccer team will vary from approximately $50,000 to $1 billion or more.

The actual amount it will cost you to buy a soccer team will depend on the division the team is playing in. The higher the division, the higher the amount you can expect to spend on the purchase.

For instance, if you are looking to buy a soccer team from the Major League Soccer (MLS) today, you can expect to spend around $100 million going upwards. On the other hand, if you are looking to buy a soccer team from the amateur or semi-professional leagues, then you are going to spend around $100,000 going upwards.

However, you may sometimes be lucky to come across a soccer team being sold for less than $100,000, especially if it’s currently struggling financially. But in such cases, you will have to invest considerably into such a team to get it off the ground.

How to Buy a Soccer Team

As we mentioned above, buying a soccer team can be a highly rewarding investment if you are a prospective investor who is passionate about soccer. And the good news is that buying a soccer team is not a complicated process.

In this section, we will walk you through the steps of how to buy and own a soccer team.

Assess Your Financial Situation

As we’ve discussed above, it will cost you money to buy a soccer club. Even if you were to go for the soccer teams in the amateur and semi-professional leagues, you can still expect to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars. And, this is not a small amount.

So, before you proceed any further with your plans, you should first assess your financial situation.

Gather Funding

After assessing your financial situation, you will have an idea of whether the money you have is enough to fund the purchase. If the money you currently have is insufficient to buy a soccer team in the preferred division, you will have to get external funding.

For funding, you can approach financial institutions like banks and check whether they may be willing to fund your purchase. Most banks will be willing to fund your purchase, as long as you can provide a valuable asset as security. Alternatively, you can also establish a partnership with like-minded investors.

If you decide to pursue the partnership route, you should ensure every part of the deal has been legally documented. Such documentation will protect you down the road in ownership or financial disputes arise.

Identify the Team to Purchase

Once you’ve acquired the necessary funds for the purchase, you can now go a step further and identify the right soccer team to buy. Here, you need to do extensive research to determine which owners are willing to sell their clubs. Your research will focus on the specific league or division, where you want to buy a soccer team.

From there, you should then contact the various teams’ CFOs and request to evaluate their financials. Ideally, you shouldn’t buy a soccer team that’s losing money or heavily in debt, unless they will offer you a decent deal and you have a solid plan of turning things around.

You should also assess the market base for every potential team, the level of competition as well as its outlook. Also, you need to go a step further and check how much you will need to invest in that team to make it competitive enough.

Make Your Final Purchasing Decision

After compiling a list of potential teams, it’s now time to make your final purchasing decision. Here, you will have two options to consider and choose one.

The first option is a soccer team that’s performing well on the pitch but hurting financially. The second option is a soccer team that’s turning a profit but performing poorly on the pitch.

From a business perspective, it will be highly advisable to go for the latter one. With the latter, you have the potential of turning it into a winning team and earning more money from it. And since soccer is rapidly growing in the U.S., you can later sell it at a profit and buy a team from a higher division.  

Key Takeaways

• Buying a soccer team can be a great investment
• The amount it will cost to buy a soccer team ranges between $100,000 to $1 billion
• The actual amount will depend on the division the soccer team is playing in
• You should conduct thorough due diligence before you proceed to buy a soccer team