The business consultancy firm KPMG has examined the effects of the Covid pandemic on Europe's biggest football clubs. Borussia Dortmund's loss in value was lower than that of other clubs.

In the study "The European Elite 2021 - Football Clubs' Valuation: Dribbling around COVID-19", KPMG examined the impact of the Coronavirus pandemic on the business value of the 32 most prominent football clubs in Europe. Compared to the previous year, the enterprise values of the top clubs fell by 15% (-6.1 billion euros) to 33.6 billion euros, slightly above the level of 2018. This decline can mainly be attributed to the decrease in TV and matchday revenues due to the pandemic. At club level, Borussia Dortmund (a 5% drop) recorded the smallest loss, behind Ajax (a 3% drop) and on a par with Atlético Madrid.

Real Madrid top the rankings as the most valuable European football club for the third year in a row (2.909 billion euros). FC Barcelona (2.869 billion euros) take second place, relegating last year's runner-up Manchester United (2.661 billion euros) to third place. BVB (1.220 billion euros) are ranked 12th.

Equity, total debt and liquid assets play a role in determining the value of the business. Profitability in the two previous years, popularity on social media, the value of players, expected television revenues and stadium ownership were also taken into account.