Manchester United losing to European rivals off the pitch in football stock rankings

As the new football season kicks off across Europe, some of the continent's top clubs are competing for trophies while also vying for attention in the financial markets.

A study by personal finance comparison site Finder has ranked the performance of publicly listed football clubs across Europe since the start of the year, and the results paint a bleak picture for two major British teams: Manchester United (MANU) and Celtic (CCP.L).

While Manchester United’s struggles on the pitch have been well-documented, crashing out of the Carabao Cup and losing to Manchester City in the derby last week, their financial performance has been similarly underwhelming. As of 17 September, the club’s stock had dropped by 9.4% since the start of the year, placing it at the bottom of Finder’s league table of 10 publicly traded clubs.

The stock’s trajectory has closely mirrored the team's on-field woes, having plummeted by as much as 28% in March.

Celtic, meanwhile, sits in mid-table with a modest gain of 1.5% in 2025. While the club’s shares reached a high of 16% in July, their performance has since faltered following their failure to qualify for the Champions League, leaving them in seventh place in Finder's table.

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Many European football clubs are enjoying much better fortunes, putting in strong stock market performances. In fact, the average return for the clubs in Finder's research stands at an impressive 21.4%.Benfica's Enzo Barrenechea celebrates scoring a goal against Qarabag·REUTERS / Reuters

One standout performer is Benfica (SLBEN.LS), the Portuguese club whose shares have surged by 108.8% since the start of 2025. This growth can be attributed to successful player sales and commercial deals, even though the club did not secure the Portuguese league title last season. That honour went to Sporting (SCP.LS), which sits in fifth place in Finder’s stock table, with its shares up by 6.4%.

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Other clubs enjoying significant stock market success include FC Copenhagen (PARKEN.CO), whose shares have risen by 49.6% this year, and FC Porto (FCP.LS), which has increased by 41.8%.

In this fictional league, three of Europe’s biggest football clubs, Manchester United, Juventus (JUVE.MI), and Ajax (AJAX.AS), are facing metaphorical relegation, not from their domestic leagues, but from the top tier of investor confidence.

Manchester United, long regarded as one of the most globally recognised football brands, reported its sixth straight annual net loss on Wednesday and warned of lower revenue in the current fiscal year, underscoring the continued financial pressures facing the Premier League club.

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For the year ended 30 June, the club posted a net loss of £33m, narrowing considerably from the £113.2m deficit recorded the previous year. The reduced loss reflects a series of cost-cutting measures implemented in response to prolonged underperformance both on the pitch and in the boardroom.

Despite the improvement, the club’s guidance for the year ahead points to further challenges, with revenue expected to decline.Inter Milan's Francesco Acerbi in action with Juventus's Dusan Vlahovic·REUTERS / Reuters

Juventus, a European powerhouse, has struggled to generate returns for investors. Its share price is down 1.34% for the year to date, continuing a pattern of stagnation. While the Italian side had enjoyed modest gains earlier in the year, with its shares up 1.24% at one point, those gains have since eroded.

Dutch club Ajax also finds itself in the relegation zone of this financial table, with performance metrics placing it among the poorest-performing football equities.Ajax's Oliver Valaker Edvardsen in action·REUTERS / Reuters

Commenting on the dynamics of football stocks, George Sweeney, a finder.com expert, said: “It’s interesting to see that poor performance on-field can sometimes translate into below par results financially, but not always. It begs an interesting question, are the teams not living up to their fans’ expectations because of unsteady finances, or vice versa?

He added: “It appears that decent performances and the position of league finishes don’t always translate to positive share price performance, but it certainly helps. Like with any investment, the stock price of football clubs will move based on the underlying financials and strength of the club."

Sweeney mentioned the evolving landscape of football investments, noting the role of trading apps in making football stocks more accessible to investors. However, he cautioned that investing in football clubs is not a typical financial venture.

"Football clubs aren’t all about cash flows and balance sheets," he said. "Yet, the very essence of what makes these teams special is also what adds a unique layer of uncertainty to them as investments. So, prospective investors have plenty to think about when it comes to devising the right strategy and approach to take.”

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