Europe’s richest football club: The alternative football rich list
Posted on: 06/09/2021
With the failed attempt to launch a European Super League back in April, along with numerous top clubs suffering financial issues (which has even led to Lionel Messi sensationally unable to re-sign with Barcelona for the upcoming season), the finance of football has never been more prominent.
However, how would each of the most successful European clubs stack up if they were ranked solely on value of the honours won in their respective trophy cabinets?
Here at F.Hinds, we peered into the trophy cabinets of 10 of Europe’s most successful football clubs to come up with our alternative football rich list.
We valued each trophy based on its weight and the materials it’s crafted from – are they gold plated? Silver? Are they set with gemstones? We then calculated how many times each club won each trophy to give us our valuations. The results may surprise you!
The ultimate bling values
While many footballers would like to show off their vast jewellery collections, not many will be able to compete with the top trophy in the list, the Serie A trophy, in terms of overall value.
Lifted in victory by Inter Milan last season, the 5kg golden trophy has an astonishing value of £210,481. First created in 1960 by sculptor Ettore Calvelli, the trophy remains the property of Serie A, with each winning team receiving a reduced scale model to be exhibited in their trophy room.
The DFB-Pokal, valued at a staggering £149,257, is the second most valuable trophy in Europe. It weighs 6.258kg and is made from gold-plated sterling silver and is encrusted with 12 tourmalines, 12 rock crystals and 18 nephrites, including a solid green nephrite in the centre. Next most valuable is the Bundesliga trophy, valued at £121,853. This silver shield is set with five 71.98 carat, gold-encased tourmaline cabochons and weighs a sturdy 11kg.
While the Premier League is seen as the richest league in European football, the actual trophy is only 7th in the valuation rankings. Made from solid sterling silver and malachite, it’s valued at £7,443. However, standing at 104cm tall and weighing 25.4kg, it’s still an impressive trophy.
An English trophy also sites at the bottom of the rankings table, with the English League Cup being the least valuable trophy in Europe. Weighing 2.8kg and made from silver, it’s valued at just £1,809.
The results
So, which club has the keys to the most valuable cabinet? 
Juventus edges out the current German champions Bayern Munich to take top spot in our alternative football rich list. Mainly thanks to their record breaking 36 Serie A wins, the current home of Cristiano Ronaldo tops the league with a trophy cabinet worth an astonishing £7,832,710.
Bayern Munich takes second spot, with £7,372,913 worth of trophies, mainly thanks to winning the DFB-Ligapokal and Bundesliga numerous times over the years.
The current Serie A champions Inter Milan rounds off the top three, with a trophy cabinet boasting £4,292,465 worth of prizes, just ahead of their fierce rivals AC Milan (£4,159,665).
They may not be able to afford another ‘Galatico’ signing in the near future, and its further bad news for Real Madrid as they sit in mid table when it comes to trophy cabinet value – theirs being valued at £1,491,505.
Manchester United may not have won the top prize in English football for many years, but their impressive trophy haul still makes them the highest-ranking English team in our table, and sixth in our alternative rich list overall – with £958,187 worth of booty in their display cabinets. They are followed by Liverpool (£405,284) and Arsenal (£312,953) in terms of English teams.
Atletico Madrid may have won La Liga last season, but with a trophy cabinet value of £277,405, they are rock bottom of our alternative football rich list.
Post-match analysis
With 36 wins of the most valuable trophy in the Serie A title sat in their cabinet, it’s little wonder that Juventus tops the alternative rich list.
Meanwhile, although Real Madrid and Barcelona have won Spain’s La Liga trophy 34 and 26 times respectively, at a valuation of only £9,403, they don’t have any hope of leapfrogging the Italian team any time soon.
If you’re looking for a special gift for the football fan in your life, then make sure to check out our range of football jewellery.