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Investing in football clubs pays

Shares in some publicly quoted teams in Europe have managed to beat the wider stock market over the past few years as revenues at top clubs have surged, largely thanks to rapidly growing broadcast revenues.

Shares in Juventus, controlled by the Agenlli family's listed Exor vehicle and Italy's most decorated club, have risen fourfold over the past five years. The value of Arsenal has doubled over the same period. Scotland's Celtic and Portugal's Porto have also performed strongly.

Manchester United shares, listed in New York, have not enjoyed the same success, generating a small return over the last five years.

Clubs with global appeal are likely to be beneficiaries of the battle between rival online streaming services bidding aggressively for exclusive content.

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