MLS World Cup Push Fails to Sway Investors on $731M Valuations
Major League Soccer is leveraging a home World Cup to convert new fans and justify record franchise valuations averaging $731 million, but high revenue multiples are driving some investors toward cheaper European alternatives.
MLS kicked off a $15 million advertising campaign this week to capture residual interest from the U.S.-hosted World Cup, but the league’s financial metrics are facing heightened scrutiny from Wall Street. All 30 clubs invested at least $500,000 in the push, with 22 teams offering free tickets to convert casual viewers into regular attendees.
The league’s franchise values have surged to an average of $731 million, a nearly fourfold increase from a decade ago. However, those prices translate to an 8.9 times multiple of trailing average revenue, a figure that outpaces Real Madrid and Manchester United while matching the NHL despite significantly lower actual revenues.
“A lot of the Americans I speak to are priced out of the domestic market,” says Alexander Jarvis, founder of soccer M&A advisory firm Blackbridge Sports. “If I was an investor, I think Europe’s more interesting because you can buy some teams for, like, one or two times revenue, which you just can’t do in America.”
The disconnect between price and fundamentals is stark when comparing top-line income. Inter Miami leads MLS with an estimated $200 million in revenue last season, a figure nearly quadrupled by Lionel Messi’s arrival. By contrast, middle-tier English Premier League clubs like Everton and Fulham routinely exceed $250 million annually.
League executives argue the revenue gap will close as the on-field product improves and infrastructure expands. MLS has added 12 teams over the last 11 years, with San Diego FC paying a record $500 million expansion fee, while clubs have built nine new stadiums since 2018 to drive premium seating revenue.
The recent signings of Son Heung-min, Antoine Griezmann, and Robert Lewandowski signal an aggressive push to acquire established talent, bolstered by a planned 2027 move to a global July-to-May calendar. “People assumed Lionel Messi would come here to retire—he’s done the exact opposite,” says Camilo Durana, MLS’s chief business officer.
Yet underlying engagement metrics remain a challenge for a league priced for massive growth. Average attendance has slipped to roughly 22,000 this year, down from a 2024 record of 23,300. Television viewership is also recovering from a restrictive "double paywall," with total live audiences now averaging a little more than 500,000 per game.
The World Cup may provide a temporary demand shock, but converting 30 million television viewers into sustainable revenue streams is a different proposition. Without a dramatic acceleration in matchday or media income, MLS’s premium multiples will remain difficult for value-focused buyers to justify.
