Milan: European football’s publicly traded teams are stunning investors as much as fans.
The latest is Juventus, whose 3-0 victory against Atletico Madrid — thanks to a hat-trick from Cristiano Ronaldo — gave the Italian team a comeback 3-2 aggregate win and sent them into the Champions League quarter-finals. Shares of the team rallied as much as 30 per cent, the most on record.
It was the third remarkable comeback in just eight days for listed teams after Amsterdam’s Ajax dumped Real Madrid out of the continent’s elite tournament despite losing the first game 2-1, and England’s Manchester United overturned a two-goal first-leg deficit to defeat Paris St-Germain in the French capital.
The wins have significant financial implications: Champions League quarter finalists receive an extra 10.5 million euros (Dh43.56 million) in prize money, with another 31 million euros potentially at stake if clubs progress further.
Success in Europe’s most prestigious tournament also tends to bring greater leverage with sponsors.
— Bloomberg
