British Football vs British Business: Who’s Really Winning?

For the last decade, the UK stock market hasn’t exactly been the investor’s playground of choice.

Between economic headwinds, political turbulence, and a noticeable lack of tech-driven growth stories, global capital has been looking elsewhere. Since around 2016, the money has largely been flowing out rather than in.

But while the FTSE has been slogging it out in the midfield, one sector of Britain has been absolutely thriving.

Football.

From the Trading Floor to the Terraces

It’s hard to overstate just how big football has become for the UK economy.

Each season, the Premier League attracts around 2 billion global viewers and contributes nearly £10 billion a year to UK GDP supporting more than 100,000 jobs along the way.

When Hollywood stars are signing up for 3pm kick-offs in Wrexham, you know the business model has changed. In fact, more than half of all Premier League clubs have changed ownership in the past ten years.

And while football club ownership isn’t purely about financial return (try telling that to the boardroom at Stamford Bridge), we thought we’d run the numbers and see how British football has stacked up against British business over the last decade.

The “Big Six” vs the FTSE 100

To make it a fair game, we lined up two teams:

• The “Big Six” football clubs: Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester United, Manchester City, and Tottenham.

• The Top Six companies in the FTSE 100.

We then looked at their growth and performance over the past ten years.

The results? A bit of a mixed bag.

Some companies have put in solid performances (there’s always a few safe defenders in the FTSE line-up), but overall, it’s fair to say British football has been the one lifting trophies, financially and globally.

Between record sponsorship deals, soaring media rights, and global fan engagement, football has managed to attract investment from every corner of the world, something the UK stock market can only dream of right now.

The Funny Thing About Scale

Here’s the twist, though: in pure investment terms, even the biggest football clubs are relatively small fry.

If you put Arsenal, Tottenham, and Chelsea on the stock market, they wouldn’t even make it into the FTSE 100. Manchester and Liverpool just about would but they’d be hovering near the relegation zone, next to names like Howden Joinery, AutoTrader, and JD Sports.

It’s a reminder that brand power doesn’t always equal balance-sheet dominance.

Football clubs punch far above their financial weight when it comes to cultural and emotional return but when it comes to investment scale, they’re still a long way from the big leagues of global markets.

What Can Investors Learn from the Beautiful Game?

While football and investing may seem worlds apart, there are some useful parallels:

• Diversify your line-up – No team (or portfolio) wins with only strikers. Balance your risk and spread across different sectors.

• Play the long game – Success, like compound growth, doesn’t happen overnight. It takes time, discipline, and the occasional tactical substitution.

• Stay calm during a losing streak – Even the best managers face bad runs. The key is sticking to your strategy, not panicking after every dip.

At Cleveden Park Wealth, we may not be able to manage Manchester United, but we can help you build a well-structured financial plan that performs through every economic season.

If you’d like to review your investment strategy before the next kick-off, our team in Finnieston is here to help.

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