If The Venky’s sold Blackburn Rovers today, how much would the club be worth? AI decides | OneFootball

Chat GPT weighs in with how much Blackburn Rovers could be worth today

We're closing in on 15 years since the Indian-based Poultry farming company, The Venky's, took over Blackburn Rovers.

It's been a tough decade and a half for Rovers fans, who have gone from their side winning the Premier League title under previous ownership to a season as far down as League One under the Rao family.

Blackburn were relegated from the top flight in the first full season under the new owners, and haven't graced the Premier League, or the Championship's play-offs, since.

The club operates on a low budget compared to their fellow second-tier sides, but have still managed to put together some competitive squads and develop players to sell them on for profits. Despite this, many Rovers fans still voice their frustrations at their current owners.

The Venky's CEO Steve Waggott said earlier this year that the club was not for sale, and even then, a genuine offer hasn't arrived "in his seven-and-a-half years."

But what if an offer came in? And what if the ownership group were open to selling Blackburn to a new buyer? How much would they have to pay?

Football League World has turned to popular AI-based service, Chat GPT, to see how much they believe the club to be worth.

What AI considers when deciding how much a team is worth

When asking Chat GPT how much Blackburn would be sold for if a sale occurred today, AI outlined three factors.

The first was the Analyst's estimations after looking online and seeing what people suggest.

One podcast cited a valuation of £30-£35 million, whereas others suggest valuations between £40-50 million, which on its own, doesn't sound too bad.

However, it's worth noting that there are hundreds of millions of debt in the club, so the price would depend on whether the Venky's were happy to cut ties with their losses and potentially lose out on around £150 million.

Secondly, AI looked at the club's most recent financial records, which actually reported a pre-tax profit due to the club-record sale of Adam Wharton to Crystal Palace.

Their revenue of £21.4 million is among the lowest in the Championship, and therefore the club don't make much outside of player sales in comparison to other second-tier sides, hence the debt, which AI estimates to be around £147 million.

Finally, Chat GPT looked at the squad market value, which would outline how much money could be made if Blackburn sold all of their playing assets.

It states that Transfermarkt data places Rovers' squad at around £43 million, although that figure does reflect player value, rather than what the club may value them at.

How much Blackburn Rovers is estimated to be worth by AI

Putting all those factors together, AI believes that anyone not willing to assume all the previous debt from the Venky's would pay around £30-£50 million for the club.

This value would rise to around £150-£200 million if a buyer were prepared to take on all the debt built up over the past 14 years.

And, with the club looking miles away from returning to the English top flight, it's incredibly unlikely that a figure that astronomical could be tabled in.

So, it seems that the Venky's ruling over Blackburn will reach its 15th anniversary this November. They'll be hoping for something to celebrate this season, after coming close to breaching the top six last term.