Guangzhou Evergrande Becomes the Club with the Highest Market Value in the World

The Guangzhou Evergrande, current champion of Asia and team of Colombian player Jackson Martínez, has become the “club with the highest market value in the world”, surpassing Real Madrid and Manchester United, as reported by the Xinhua agency on Wednesday.

According to the Xinhua News Agency, an operation carried out in the NEEQ, a secondary Chinese stock market where the club has been operating since November, has increased its market capitalization to $3.35 billion dollars (€3.05 billion euros), according to figures published by this official Chinese media outlet.

The agency stated, “Guangzhou Evergrande is the number one club in the world in terms of market value,” at a time when Chinese football is emerging as one of the most active and powerful markets in the world. The operation revealed by Xinhua consists of 36,000 shares at 55 yuan each (€7.70), representing an increase of nearly 40% compared to the 40 yuan at which they were sold in mid-January during the previous fund expansion.

Guangzhou Evergrande's market capitalization exceeds the $3.26 billion estimated value of Real Madrid in 2015 by the American magazine Forbes. The Chinese club would also surpass Manchester United, which operates in New York, with a market capitalization of $2.35 billion dollars.

On Wednesday, the value of Guangzhou Evergrande's shares on the NEEQ was slightly increasing, reaching 55.10 yuan. The club, based in the city of Canton (Guangzhou in Mandarin) is owned by real estate developer Evergrande, and Chinese e-commerce company Alibaba holds around 40%.

As the current champion of Asia, Guangzhou Evergrande paid €42 million euros to sign Colombian international Jackson Martínez from Atlético de Madrid in the last winter transfer market.