Brazilian football clubs’ financials 2025. In pursuit of sustainable financial growth!
Sports Value has just completed its latest study on the financial performance of Brazilian football clubs in 2025.The English version, with all financial figures presented in U.S. dollars, is now available.
Click here to download the full Sports Value report in English, featuring more than 100 pages on the finances of Brazilian football clubs in 2025.
The study includes a wide range of exclusive financial data and key insights on revenues, costs, profitability, and debt.
It also features a special section on the challenges of SAFs (Sociedades Anônimas do Futebol) in Brazil, a comparison of global football league, the global and Latin American transfer market, the digital impact of Brazilian clubs, and 6 strategic recommendations to enhance sponsor returns.
Revenues
The TOP 20 revenue-generating clubs in Brazil reached an all-time record in total revenue, amounting to R$ 15 billion in 2025, U$ 2.73 billion, a 36% growth in Brazilian Reais terms and 44% in U.S. Dollar terms.
This growth was driven by a broad-based increase in revenues, with strong contributions from player transfers, broadcasting rights, sponsorships, and matchday income.
Broadcasting revenues reached US$ 872 million, largely driven by USD-denominated payments from international competitions such as the FIFA Club World Cup and Copa Libertadores.
Player transfer revenues surpassed US$ 727 million for the first time.
Commercial revenues generated US$ 581 million and saw a significant increase last years, strongly influenced by the inflated spending from betting companies, which have been paying substantially more than other sectors.
Matchday reached US$ 391 million.
TOP 20 Clubs – Revenues – 2025- US$ million
| Flamengo | 380 |
| Palmeiras | 308 |
| Botafogo SAF | 252 |
| São Paulo | 197 |
| Fluminense | 186 |
| Corinthians | 177 |
| Grêmio | 134 |
| Santos | 123 |
| Cruzeiro SAF | 123 |
| Atlético-MG SAF | 122 |
| Internacional | 119 |
| Red Bull Bragantino | 116 |
| Vasco da Gama SAF | 104 |
| Bahia SAF | 102 |
| Athletico-PR | 79 |
| Fortaleza SAF | 55 |
| Ceará | 46 |
| Vitória | 36 |
| Sport | 33 |
| Mirassol | 33 |
Source: Sports Value
Global Football Leagues Financial Comparison
Sports Value presented an analysis comparing the TOP 20 Brazilian clubs by revenue with the main football leagues around the world.
Brazil currently ranks 7th. in operating revenues (excluding player transfer fees) among the world’s largest football leagues.
Football Costs
The TOP 20 clubs reported consolidated football-related costs of US$ 2.11 billion in 2025,
Costs rose sharply consistently tracking revenue growth. The significant deficits recorded in 2024 and 2025 indicate that many clubs are currently operating with leveraged financial structures.
Football costs include not only wages and operational expenses but also player acquisition and transfer-related costs.
TOP 20 Clubs – Football Costs – 2025- US$ million
| Palmeiras | 209 |
| Botafogo SAF | 204 |
| Flamengo | 190 |
| Corinthians | 170 |
| Fluminense | 151 |
| São Paulo | 133 |
| Cruzeiro SAF | 124 |
| Atlético-MG SAF | 115 |
| Vasco da Gama SAF | 113 |
| Santos | 111 |
| Grêmio | 89 |
| Bahia SAF | 85 |
| Internacional | 79 |
| Red Bull Bragantino Ltda | 78 |
| Athletico-PR | 60 |
| Fortaleza SAF | 60 |
| Vitória | 46 |
| Ceará | 42 |
| Sport | 30 |
| Mirassol | 18 |
Source: Sports Value
Despite revenue growth, uncontrolled cost escalation resulted in another year of deficits, totaling US$ -200 million.
The overall result was partially mitigated by the substantial surpluses generated by Flamengo and Palmeiras, which offset losses from several other clubs.
Over a two-year period, the TOP 20 clubs have accumulated total losses of US$ -455 million.
Clubs Debts
Total debt among the TOP 20 clubs reached US$ 2,9 billion in 2025.
Corinthians leads the ranking with debts of with US$ 445 million (US$ 327 million without stadium debts). Followed by Atlético-MG SAF with US$ 416 million, Botafogo SAF US$ 286 million, Cruzeiro SAF with US$ 210 million and Palmeiras with US$ 209 million (US$ 142 million without stadium debts).
Tax debts stand at US$ 0.6 billion and represent 22% of the clubs’ debts.
TOP 20 Clubs -Debts- 2025- US$ million
| Corinthians | 445 |
| Atlético-MG SAF | 416 |
| Botafogo SAf | 286 |
| Cruzeiro SAF | 210 |
| Palmeiras | 209 |
| Internacional | 169 |
| Santos | 162 |
| São Paulo | 156 |
| Vasco da Gama SAF | 153 |
| Fluminense | 150 |
| Grêmio | 142 |
| Flamengo | 86 |
| Red Bull Bragantino Ltda. | 77 |
| Sport | 69 |
| Vitória | 64 |
| Fortaleza SAF | 41 |
| Ceará | 32 |
| Bahia SAF | 31 |
| Athletico-PR | 15 |
| Mirassol | 0 |
Source: Sports Value
Given Brazil’s extremely high interest rates, clubs should reduce financial leverage and debt levels to allocate resources more efficiently and productively.
Digital Impact – Revenue Driven by Digital
Sports Value has established a strategic partnership with Zeeng Social Media Benchmark, a company specialized in digital brand performance analytics.
Both companies are already developing multiple joint analyses, particularly focused on the sponsorship market.
We analyze data and trends to enable sponsoring brands to achieve measurable returns on their sponsorship investments.
It is no longer sufficient to analyze follower counts alone. Our approach integrates multiple data sources, generating dynamic insights and actionable intelligence.
We also support clubs in better monetizing their digital assets.
Data-driven sponsorship strategies and smart digital activations are the only effective path for sponsors to achieve ROI in sports marketing investments.
6 Tips to Boost Returns For Sponsors
Sports Value has been working with leading sponsoring brands both in Brazil and internationally.
In Brazil, there is significant visual clutter for sponsor brands, creating a model that limits ROI on sponsorship investments. Many brands commit substantial budgets but achieve very low effective returns.
The key challenge is generating ROI in an environment with numerous alternatives and high investment levels.
