Real Madrid the most valuable club in the world – first to cross €6 billion valuation
Real Madrid are almost synonymous with football, and it is clear that their brand is the biggest there is in the sport.
The allure of playing for the Merengues is simply unparalleled and the aura they hold among fans is something special.
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A combination of all these factors makes it a highly marketable club whose economic return is massive.
The Merengues have been the most valuable club in the world for a while now, but that does not stop them from further improving their situation in the slightest. AS bring to light the latest update on Real Madrid's economic situation.
Growing to new heights
As relayed by the Spanish outlet, Real Madrid are again the most valuable club in the world according to the Annual Football Benchmark with a valuation of over €6 billion.
The report also furthers that Los Blancos are now the first club in history to cross the €6 billion mark as they have now hit €6.278 billion as per the latest figures.
The biggest and most valuable club in the world. (Photo by Gonzalo)
The increase from last year is a staggering 23% for Los Blancos, something that is massive when put into perspective of Manchester City and Manchester United who grew by three and four percent respectively and are second and third respectively.
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Real Madrid's promising growth is down to a plethora of factors, the biggest being the renovated Santiago Bernabeu stadium which has practically doubled the income on match days for the club. The club made over €1 billion in operating revenue.
With bigger names and a better squad this time around, Real Madrid will look to do justice next season and progress deep, winning all competitions they step into.
Before that, however, they are focused on becoming the first club to win the FIFA Club World Cup.
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Miami Herald
9 minutes ago
- Miami Herald
These companies appear in secret documents of Cuba's largest military conglomerate
A Miami Herald investigation that revealed that a Cuban military conglomerate is holding billions in secret dollar reserves amid the ongoing collapse of the economy shows the island's armed services have created a network large of companies that tap into almost every string of foreign revenue entering the island.. Secret financial documents obtained by the Herald show that GAESA, the military's umbrella company that has a multitude of subsidiaries, had $18 billion in current assets as of March 2024, most of it deposited in unknown bank accounts. The Herald obtained more than 20 financial statements from GAESA's internal accounting system for March and August 2024. The Herald also obtained a PowerPoint presentation with financial information from Cimex's, the largest holding company under the umbrella. Financial statements for March and August last year, titled 'Balance de datos' (Data Balance) and 'Estado de Resultados por Conceptos '(roughly translated as income statement by concept), identify 25 companies in the conglomerate, grouped into three categories: state enterprises, 'international economic associations,' and mipymes, the Spanish acronym for micro, small, and medium enterprises. The Cuban government uses the 'international economic associations' category to authorize contracts with foreign firms to manage Cuban hotels, exploit natural resources and similar partnerships. It may involve the creation of new companies in a 'joint venture' or just a contract for services. Cimex's presentation mentioned six of its companies, though most were not named. Some of the companies named in the documents obtained by the Herald have not been previously identified as being part of GAESA. That includes Aries S.A., the company that operates the cruise terminal in Havana, which was used by several cruise companies taking U.S. travelers to the island between 2016 and 2019. Cimex is believed to be the island's largest commercial corporation, with businesses in several sectors including international trade, retail, tourism, banking, transportation, logistics and real estate among others. According to a 2020 research paper authored by a Cimex analyst, the holding had 41 enterprises at the time. It also operated 668 gas stations around the country in 2020, according to the declaration of its legal director, Mali Suris Valmaña, in a U.S. court case involving a lawsuit filed by Exxon against Cimex. In her declaration, Valmaña spilled the beans regarding Cimex's true ownership: the Cuban company is owned by Corporación CIMEX, S.A, registered in Panama. GAESA and many of its companies, including Cimex, are under U.S. sanctions, though several mentioned in the documents are not. Here is the list of the companies named in the documents obtained by the Herald: Monte Barreto, a real estate company that owns and operates the Miramar Trade Center, an office and retail building complex in Havana in a joint venture with Ceiba Investments Ltd, a company registered in the Isle of Guernsey, a tax haven. Azul Inmobiliaria, a real estate company that manages condominiums in partnership with an Italian company, BD International. Logística Hotelera del Caribe (LHC), a joint venture based at the special development zone in Mariel that sells food and supplies to hotels in Cuba. Complejo de Museos Históricos Militares, (Military History Museum Complex), an enterprise that manages the Museum of Revolution, the Morro Castle and the Cabaña fortress in de Aceite Ecasol (Ecasol Oil Marketing Company), a cooking oil commercialization company. Comercializadora de Aceite Ecasol (Ecasol Oil Marketing Company), a cooking oil commercialization de Servicios Generales de la Marina (Maritime General Services Company). The Herald could not find public information about this company. Empresa de Servicios Ingenieros Dirección Integrada de Proyectos Mariel (Mariel Integrated Project Management Engineering Services Company), a company handling port, logistics, infrastructure and building projects at the special development zone in Inmobiliaria Almest, a real estate company investing in Importadora Tecnotex, (Technical Products Importer and Exporter Company, also known as Tecnoimport), a company mired in an alleged corruption scandal in TRD-Caribe, one of the island's largest hard currency stores S.A., an airline flying Universales S.A., a logistics company that handles operations at the port of Antex S.A., (previously known as Corporación Antillana de Exportaciones, SA), a corporation contracting doctors and managing businesses in S.A. (also known as Empresa Comercializadora y Exportadora de Productos Agropecuarios y Agroindustriales, S.A.) is an importer and exporter of agricultural products, which functions as an intermediary for private enterprises importing food y Extracción de Petróleo y Gas S.A (Oil and Gas Exploration and Extraction S.A.). The Herald could not find public information about a company with this name. A similarly named company (Unión de Exploración, Perforación y Extracción de Petróleo) merged with Union del Combustible in 1992 to create CUPET, Cuba's main oil de Turismo Gaviota S.A., GAESA's flagship tourism companyInmobiliaria Caribe S.A., a real estate company providing 'rental services in prime areas of the capital,' according to its Facebook Marítimos S.A. (Maritime Services S.A.). The Herald could not find public data about a company with this name. Cuba's Communist Party newspaper Granma reported last year that a new Cuban company named Servicios Marítimos Mariel S.A. operating at the special development zone in Mariel, would offer customs services, processing of manifests and supplies to ships and crews at the port of Automotores S.A., a company importing and selling cars and car de Auditoría S.A., a company providing auditing services with its main office in Miramar, in a company that operates the cruise terminal in the port of Havana. It was previously believed to be affiliated with GEMAR, a holding company part of the Ministry of Importadora y Exportadora de Productos Técnicos (Technical Products Importer and Exporter Company, also known as Tecnoimport), a company sued by Russian truckmaker Ural for Moncada, a new cement factory built last year in Santiago de Cuba. The administration of the plant was offered as an investment project in 2021, according to a document by the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment. Agencia Importadora Caribe Surl, an importer Grafo Caribe Surl, an advertising company. Both are linked to TRD Caribe, the store chain, the documents show. Cimex Mariel, a company based in the Mariel Special Development Zone that produces and sells coffee under the brands Cubita and Financiera CIMEX, a company handling remittances and credit cards transactions in Cimex S.A., a real estate S.A. ( Zona Especializada de Logística y Comercio, ZELCOM S.A), a free trade zone near Tarará S.A., a lodging and rentals S.A., an information technology company offering 'applications, technology and network solutions,' according to its profile on Facebook.
USA Today
9 minutes ago
- USA Today
Bayern Munich icon Thomas Müller to Whitecaps in latest MLS transfer blockbuster
The MLS hot stove has arguably never been hotter, with Germany and Bayern Munich icon Thomas Müller completing a move to the Vancouver Whitecaps in the latest major move this summer. Müller, 35, is by some measure the biggest star in Whitecaps history, and arguably for any of Canada's three MLS clubs. He is expected to arrive in Vancouver next week for a press conference, and will train with his new teammates the next day. "I'm looking forward to coming to Vancouver to help this team win a championship," said Müller in a Whitecaps press release. "I've heard great things about the city, but first and foremost I'm coming to win. I've had great conversations with [CEO] Axel Schuster and [head coach] Jesper Sørensen, and now I can't wait to play in front of the supporters and to see all of the fans come out to BC Place as we head towards the playoffs." Müller is an all-time great at Bayern, which has long dominated German soccer. A native of the club's home state of Bavaria, Müller joined Bayern's academy as a 10-year-old, spending 25 years with one of Europe's biggest clubs. During that time, Müller played in 756 games (more than anyone in team history), scoring 250 goals. Müller lifted 33 trophies as a Bayern player, including 23 in major competitions like the Bundesliga, UEFA Champions League, and FIFA Club World Cup. His final appearance in a Bayern shirt came on July 5 in Bayern's 2-0 loss to Paris Saint-Germain during this summer's Club World Cup. The attacker joins a Vancouver side in the midst of their best season since joining MLS in 2011. The Whitecaps currently sit second in the Western Conference on 45 points, one behind impressive expansion side San Diego FC (with the Canadians holding a game in hand). The 2014 World Cup winner is not the only major star to join an MLS team recently. One of Vancouver's major competitors in the Western Conference, LAFC, is set to announce Son Heung-min on Wednesday after putting up the largest transfer fee in MLS history to sign the former Tottenham captain. In July, Inter Miami signed Argentina midfielder Rodrigo De Paul, adding to a star-studded roster that includes Lionel Messi, Luis Suárez, Sergio Busquets, and Jordi Alba. Here's what to know about Bayern Munich star Thomas Müller's move to MLS with the Vancouver Whitecaps: Leagues Cup: Inter Miami vs. Pumas UNAM: Time, TV, is Lionel Messi playing tonight? Thomas Muller to Vancouver Whitecaps: How MLS deal works Thomas Müller's move to the Vancouver Whitecaps seems like the simplest thing in the world: he's a free agent, the Whitecaps came up with a contract offer to his liking, and Vancouver has the roster space necessary to add an international player. However, MLS is among the world's most complicated leagues, with a rulebook that could rival the NFL's in some ways. While the on-field rules are still simple — outside of some very minor tweaks regarding things like players leaving the field quickly when substituted, MLS has not modified the sport of soccer — the regulations regarding roster rules, player transfers, and assets used are all notoriously convoluted. In this case, Vancouver is having to jump through two separate hoops. First, to sign Müller at all, they needed to make a separate, asset-for-asset trade with FC Cincinnati thanks to MLS's "discovery priority" rules. Discovery priority — essentially a formalized process of calling dibs on first rights among MLS teams to negotiate with a player — exists to keep MLS teams from bidding against one another when pursuing players who are not currently in the league. It's a holdover from the league's early days, when team owners and league officials could remember the demise of the original North American Soccer League in the mid-1980s. NASL teams spent beyond their means on players, with the league eventually folding as a result. In Müller's case, FC Cincinnati had the top discovery claim on him, which makes for an awkward fit on the surface. After all, how can any MLS team "discover" a global star who has won the biggest competitions in the sport? Furthering the confusion, MLS teams have long figured out that you can still offer hypothetical terms to a player without having discovery priority, as long as you can also afford to make a deal to acquire top dibs somewhere along the way. Despite the problems with nomenclature, the issue here was simple: Cincinnati had genuine interest in signing Müller, and MLS rules require teams with discovery priority to either seriously pursue signing the player in question, or hand the right to negotiate over to another team. 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That includes allowing teams to trade actual dollars for players for the first time, which has already been used for several multi-million moves, including FC Cincinnati bringing MVP candidate Evander over from the Portland Timbers for $12 million in February.
Yahoo
36 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Chelsea Are Open To Launching A Move For This Barcelona Attacker: Good Fit For Maresca?
In a recent report, journalist Mark Brus claimed that Chelsea are open to launching a move for Barcelona attacker Fermin Lopez this summer. It has been mentioned that the Blues are willing to make a bid in the region of €60m for the Spanish talent this off-season. Lopez's Impressive Form In La Liga Lopez enjoyed a decent run of form at the Catalan club in the previous campaign when he put in a series of impressive displays for them at the centre of the park. The Spanish playmaker featured in 46 matches for Barcelona last season, finding the back of the net eight times and picking up ten assists across all fronts. The 22-year-old managed to shine at times on the offensive end of the field as he averaged 2.95 shots per 90 minutes in La Liga football. He kept 36.6% of his shots on target. Lopez was even careful when interchanging possession with his teammates after completing 81.8% of his attempted passes in league football (stats via Lopez is under contract at the Catalan club until the summer of 2029. Hence, Chelsea would have to make a convincing offer if they are serious about recruiting him in this transfer window. DORTMUND, GERMANY – APRIL 15: Fermin Lopez of FC Barcelona celebrates after Ramy Bensebaini of Borussia Dortmund scores an own-goal during the UEFA Champions League 2024/25 Quarter Final Second Leg match between Borussia Dortmund and FC Barcelona at BVB Stadion Dortmund on April 15, 2025 in Dortmund, Germany. (Photo by) Is Lopez A Good Fit For Chelsea Boss Enzo Maresca? Lopez can shoot the ball with venom from long range and has got the vision to engineer a few promising chances for others around him in the opponent's half. He can make some driving runs with the ball in the final third. The Spaniard had added plenty of goals and assists to his game. However, it remains to be seen whether he can make a smooth transition to life in the Premier League if Chelsea manage to bring him on board this off-season. Lopez would bring more quality and depth to Enzo Maresca's attack. He has what it takes to fight for regular first-team football at Stamford Bridge next season. At 22, Lopez has got the potential to be a future star in European football. Thus, he would be a great fit for the West London club's needs in the long run. All in all, Maresca should focus on getting a deal done for the talented playmaker soon.
