While owning a part of your favorite football club sounds like a childhood dream, it can become a reality in several simple steps. When it comes to investing, buying shares in a football club is the same as with any regular business. Performance tends to affect the share price, and knowing your football club by heart is similar to doing thorough research on an investment commodity. This guide will teach you how to buy shares in a football club and explain every step in detail. Additionally, you will learn the pros and cons of investing in your football team, guidelines for secure investing, and tips on picking the right investing platform.
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Can you buy shares in a football club?
You can follow a general rule regarding the price of any shares – supply and demand are the dominant factors determining the price. However, there are other influences to account for, like company performance, financial history, news and reports, politics, ethics, the global conditions of the industry, etc.
The story is similar with football clubs, except that beyond the two dominant factors, you swap the other ones with player performances and transfers, team financials, scoreboard, ranking, and sponsorships, among others.
You should also perform fundamental and technical analysis to uncover potential share price trends and make a sound trading plan and risk assessment.
Which football clubs can you invest in?
Football clubs mainly change ownership in two ways.
The first way is for an individual or collective to buy the club directly and manage it like any other private asset. Football is the world’s largest and most lucrative sports industry, so buying a club outright is something only the wealthiest can consider.
For example, 2022 saw the most expensive club sale in history when Roman Abramovich sold Chelsea F.C. to Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital for £4.25 billion.
The second approach is publicly listed football clubs. Like publicly traded companies, anyone can buy shares in these organizations, and they are the topic of today’s guide.
Note
Some of the highest market capitalization clubs (as of December 2023) to invest in include:
- Manchester United (NYSE: MANU)
- Juventus Turin (MI: JUVE)
- Borussia Dortmund (F: BVB)
- Olympique Lyonnais Groupe (PA: OLG)
Where to buy shares in a football club?
Investing in your favorite team might seem difficult at first, but it is similar to investing in stocks in the UK in general. You can hire a professional to buy the shares in your stead, but it is much better to invest by yourself in a couple of simple steps using an online investment platform like eToro.
Remember
Buying shares in a football club is simple and easy. Let’s delve into the steps of the whole process.
How to buy shares in a football club: step-by-step
After choosing your publicly listed football club, you can begin investing.
Step 1: Choose a broker
Before you buy football club shares, you must register an account on a brokerage platform. While you will find many brokerages online, the right one depends on your investing style and financial objectives. For example, active day trading is radically different from passive investing, and the adequacy of a platform depends on its features.
To securely invest in football club shares, consider these brokers:
1. eToro
Looking for the best exchange platform can be a challenging and lengthy task. If you want an optimal candidate without the difficulties associated with this search, consider buying shares in a football club via eToro, a platform that provides:
- Commission-free stock trading;
- 2,000+ stocks from 17 exchanges;
- Fractional shares available;
- User-friendly platform.
Highly Rated Stock Trading & Investing Platform
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Invest in 2,800+ stocks and other assets including 70+ cryptocurrencies and commodities.
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0% commission on buying stocks - buy in bulk or just a fraction from as little as $10. Other fees apply. For more information, visit etoro.com/trading/fees.
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Copy top-performing traders in real time, automatically.
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eToro USA is registered with FINRA for securities trading.
2. Interactive Brokers (IBKR)
Another suitable investing platform, Interactive Brokers, allows buying shares in a football club with the following perks:
- Commission-free stock trading;
- Global stock-trading on 90+ market centers;
- Fractional shares available;
- Extra income on fully paid shares;
- Lowest financing rates for margin accounts in the industry;
- No account minimum.
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IBKR pays up to 4.58% interest on cash balances of $10k or more
When you make the selection, consider these factors:
- Fees: Some platforms like eToro offer commission-free stock and ETF trading. It is optimal to have as lower fees as possible, but this should not come at the expense of other qualities;
- Security: Safe and secure stock trading should be among your top priorities. Check to see whether the FCA and PRA validate the platform and look for measures such as two-factor authentication and SSL technology;
- Trading tools: Your investing style and goal define the trading tools you need. Advanced features usually come at a higher cost. If you are a beginner in stock trading, stick with an easy-to-use platform with competitive fees;
- Access to market data: Look for a platform that provides workable and regularly updated market research and data tools to improve your trading odds;
- Fractional stock trading: Fractional shares allow traders to buy less or more than a whole number of shares. It is an excellent way to diversify portfolios and set up a dollar-cost averaging strategy.
Also, traders can opt for online, full-service brokers or discount brokers, as well as robo-advisors.
Step 2: Fund your account
Once you have created an account, you will have to connect a deposit and transfer the funds. You can choose different payment methods depending on the brokerage platform you registered on. These commonly include, but are not limited to, linking a bank account directly, using a debit, credit, or prepaid card, or using a third-party financial service like PayPal (PYPL).
Step 3: Research the company
Careful research of the shares you want to obtain is vital to your interests. Before buying shares in a football club, you should get as much information as possible about the current price, performance history, and news and media reports.
Since you are buying shares in a ‘non-orthodox company,’ you should also keep track of the football club’s performance, scoreboard, player status, and various other sport-related information that can directly affect the price of your shares.
Start with the website of the exchange that lists shares of your club, as well as the official club page and press releases. Famous football clubs are at the center of the media’s attention and regulation by international football associations (like FIFA and UEFA). Also, football is widely broadcast, and teams can hardly keep their performances below the radar.
Remember, all investing has a degree of risk; no one can ensure a particular outcome. However, the more research you have on the stock, the more likely it is to make a good call.
Step 4: Decide how much you want to invest
As you conclude your research and confirm your desire to invest, you must decide how much. The amount usually depends on the stock’s current price and your budget.
You can go to our stock average calculator and calculate the average stock price of your combined investments.
Note
Step 5: Place your order and buy shares in a football club
Once all that is done, you are ready and about to execute the purchase. To begin with, you need to place an order. Log into your account (eToro for this guide), enter the ticker symbol of your club in the search bar, and precise the amount.
There are a couple of orders you can opt for:
- Market order: This type of order is your standard instruction to buy the stock at the current price. If the shares are available and the exchange is open, it goes through immediately;
- Limit order: A limit order is executed if the share price lands within the specified price range. For example, you want to buy football club shares at £54 or lower. The order goes through when the price goes into that range (in this case, £54 or lower);
- Options contract: Options speculation offers leverage at a portion of the cost of the investment asset. A call option allows investors to profit if the stock price rises and a put option enables them to benefit if the stock price falls. Derivative products can only be traded on a margin account, which typically has higher minimum balance requirements than standard brokerage accounts.
Step 6: Monitor your investment
Individual stock investing is an active trading method and requires you to devote a significant part of your time to achieve the desired performance, unlike passive investment options such as ETFs.
The decision whether you buy, hold, or sell should be regularly rechecked and updated according to current football club performance, price trends, press releases, leaderboard, and other such statistics. It is essential to remain informed, or you risk missing the moment.
Football club shares price UK
Due to the global pandemic, virtually all football events were either canceled or played without an audience. However, the odds have since much improved, and share prices have generally climbed for clubs as sports are experiencing a resurge in interest and attendance.
Let’s take Manchester United as an example of the current price of a UK football club:
Should I buy shares in a football club?
Various factors determine whether you should invest in the sport by buying individual shares. Most of these boil down to your personal preference, risk tolerance, and facts obtainable by research.
Investing always leaves room for failure as there are no totally safe investments. Investing in a single club can only increase the chance of loss. On the other hand, with a decent grasp of volatility and a determined approach, you have a chance of earning a profit.
Researching information on the price and performance makes the majority of fundamental analysis. For a clearer picture, you might also want to do some technical analysis that interprets various indicators – like chart patterns, moving averages, and oscillators – to deliver real-time recommendations in the form of a simple gauge that says ‘buy’ or ‘sell.’
Let’s return to our example club, Manchester United, and see how its technical analysis performs:
Disclaimer: TradingView does not recommend trading financial instruments based exclusively on the advice of the Technical Rating indicator. These recommendations cannot predict future movements and are meant as assistance for spotting potentially favorable buy/sell conditions if this is consistent with their strategy.
Common mistakes to avoid when investing
All investors make a mistake every once in a while. It is still rough when it happens, so make sure to make as few mistakes and miscalculations as possible. One of the approaches here is to learn from other traders’ common mistakes. For example, major factors that caused failures include:
- Lack of research: Most errors occur due to a lack of proper research. You should never enter the market without the necessary information;
- Lack of strategy: Visualize your investing goal before you enter the market for maximum optimization;
- Short-term thinking: Emotional and unplanned decisions tend to cost a lot in this market. Keeping a level head and steady hand is crucial in a long-term perspective;
- Staking everything on one asset: Nothing stops you from making e.g., Manchester United shares the only item in your portfolio. Staking everything on a single commodity, however, bears extremely high risk and should be avoided;
- Inexperienced use of leverage: Leverage has the potential to provide you huge returns quickly, but you essentially gamble with money that is not yours. Losing can have a terrible price. Do not use leverage if you don’t know what you’re doing;
- Falling prey to scams: Stay clear of murky waters and shady platforms. Retrace your footsteps and recheck every piece of information if you feel uneasy;
How to sell shares in a football club?
Either for unwanted reasons or a fulfilled investment goal, you might want to sell your shares. This case is as simple as buying them in the first place.
Log into your brokerage account, go to your stock’s section, input the number of shares or funds you want to offload, and press sell. Optionally, you can also place a limit order to sell when the price reaches your target.
Pros and cons of buying shares in a football club
No investment is without potential hazards. Here are the major factors to wage before you make this investment:
Pros
- Asset creation: Player trading and talent scouting is a vital part of every club’s performance. If done correctly, it has the potential to create value with little effort. For example, investing in a young player with high potential can result in a transfer that multiplies the investment several times;
- Long-term value: With all the transfers, commercial deals, potential awards, and sponsorships, your long-term investment has the potential to multiply if your team experiences increased performance;
- Post-pandemic growth: The price of football club stocks has experienced a surge in the post-COVID period as the industry regains its momentum;
- High liquidity: Football club shares can be easily bought and sold for cash.
Cons
- Industry volatility: Events that affect sports and football in particular can increase the volatility of your football club share price. For example, COVID-19 put a hard stop to this type of entertainment by limiting games or having them played out behind closed doors and the worth of many shares plummeted as a result;
- Shareholders affecting policy: There is always a possibility of shareholders looking for short-term value when trading football stocks. While short-term decisions have the potential to provide benefits to the investor, they are likely to harm the long-term strategy of the club.
Conclusion
Owning a share of your favorite football colors and dress sounds like something to brag about with friends and family; at its core, it isn’t too different from managing shares in a regular business.
Remember to be diligent, adhere to the guidelines provided here, and invest only what you can afford to lose. While football is just a game, putting your money into it makes it a business for you as well.
Disclaimer: The content on this site should not be considered investment advice. Investing is speculative. When investing, your capital is at risk.
FAQs about investing in football clubs
Can you buy shares in a football club?
Yes, you can buy shares in a football club if it is traded publicly and listed on a stock exchange.
Which football clubs can I invest in?
You can only invest in publicly traded football clubs such as Manchester United (MANU), Juventus (JUVE), and Borussia Dortmund (BVB).
How to invest in a football club?
The best way to invest in a football club is to purchase its shares through a trusted online investment platform like eToro.
How to buy shares in a football club?
To buy shares, you will need to use a third-party investment service and a payment method supported by it. We recommend eToro as a platform of choice.
Should I buy shares in a football club?
This depends on your risk tolerance, portfolio structure, trading experience, and financial objectives. Investing in a single stock is risky, so try to diversify your portfolio.
Where to buy football club shares?
Most clubs get listed in the markets of their respective countries. However, recently, the trend for some European football clubs has been to list at US-based exchanges. Once you locate the stock exchange of your club, you can use eToro to buy them.
Highly Rated Stock Trading & Investing Platform
-
Invest in 2,800+ stocks and other assets including 70+ cryptocurrencies and commodities.
-
0% commission on buying stocks - buy in bulk or just a fraction from as little as $10. Other fees apply. For more information, visit etoro.com/trading/fees.
-
Copy top-performing traders in real time, automatically.
-
eToro USA is registered with FINRA for securities trading.
