Are Football Stocks a Good Investment? The Pelé Index Offers Insight
Poinews.com – The 2026 World Cup has begun, drawing global attention with 48 teams and 104 matches. For millions of fans, holding shares in their favorite club represents more than just a financial move—it’s a way to express loyalty. However, only a small number of European football clubs are listed on public stock exchanges, allowing investors to participate in their growth. The challenge lies in determining if such investments are truly worthwhile.
The Pelé Index and Its Performance
Aegon Asset Management’s “Pelé Index” serves as an experimental gauge for evaluating football clubs as financial assets. It monitors all publicly traded European teams since 1998, blending humor with serious analysis. The index reflects how a fan’s fantasy might translate into actual returns: what would happen if you treated these clubs like stocks?
In the 2025/26 season, the Pelé Index generated just 0.4% in returns, far behind the 27% performance of global equities and the 17% of European shares. When looking at the broader time frame from 1998 to now, the picture is even more striking. The index has declined by approximately 11%, while global stocks have surged by 678% over the same period. A €1,000 investment in these clubs would now be worth around €892, compared to nearly €7,784 in a global equity fund.
Market Value and Global Representation
The Pelé Index includes 18 clubs across nine European leagues, from iconic names like Manchester United to lesser-known Danish teams such as Brøndby IF and Silkeborg IF. Each club is weighted by its market value, meaning the largest franchises—like Manchester United (25%) and Juventus—carry significant influence. Notably, Spain is missing from the list, as neither of its top clubs, Real Madrid nor Barcelona, are publicly traded.
Structural Misalignment and Shareholder Impact
Jordy Hermanns, a portfolio manager at Aegon Asset Management, explains that football clubs’ focus on trophies and fan engagement often clashes with financial goals.
“These objectives are not only different, they are often in conflict,”
he said. Decisions such as player transfers, wage packages, and stadium projects prioritize winning over profitability, making long-term shareholder returns difficult to achieve.
Hermanns argues that the index’s underperformance stems from this structural misalignment rather than isolated poor seasons. Even high-profile events, like Cristiano Ronaldo’s 2018 move to Juventus, failed to sustain gains. Shares briefly hit €10, fueled by expectations of European success, but have since fallen below €2, dropping 35% this season after the club placed sixth in Serie A.
A Call for Financial Discipline
To improve performance, Hermanns suggests aligning club management with financial incentives and balancing ambition on the pitch with fiscal responsibility off it.
“This is not just a cyclical issue but a structural one,”
he noted. Despite their cultural importance, football clubs rarely deliver returns that match broader markets. Over nearly three decades, the data consistently shows that while they inspire passion, they have seldom justified investment in the financial sense.
