Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) is no longer just a popular cricket team in the world. They have now become one of the biggest business stories of Indian sports. After years of heartbreak and mockery, Royal Challengers Bangalore finally turned their fortunes around by winning the IPL title in 2025.
RCB’s rise from trophy drought to power brand
After their maiden IPL glory, the franchise added another Women’s Premier League (WPL) trophy this week and transformed itself into a champion brand.
An IPL title and two WPL trophies have completely changed how the world looks at RCB, not just on the field, but off the table as well. Soon, the defending IPL champions will be one of the biggest franchises in the game.
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Indeed, Royal Challengers Bangalore’s current owner Diageo has decided to sell the IPL franchise as it is their non-core asset outside their alcobev (alcohol beverages) focus, and now powerful global conglomerates are showing strong interest.
Diageo opens the door to a mega sale
Many big names have already stepped into it. As per State of Play report, around nine different parties have sent offers to buy Royal Challengers Bangalore.
These offers are not final deals yet, but they clearly indicate intentions. The numbers are huge, starting from about a billion dollars to about $1.8 billion.
This only shows how much the value of RCB has increased after finally winning the IPL trophy. The most talked about offer is coming from the family that owns Manchester United. The Glazers have reportedly made the strongest offer to date, through Avraham Glazer’s investment company.
Manchester United owners are leading a bidding war
It is believed that his offer is around $1.8 billion i.e. around Rs 16,321 crore. Due to this, the owners of Manchester United are currently at the forefront of the race to buy RCB. Interestingly, the Glazer family is not new to cricket. They already have a cricket team in the UAE’s ILT20 league, the Desert Vipers, who are also the current champions.
This shows their increasing interest in cricket leagues across the world. Even in the IPL, the Glazer family tried to enter the Indian market when two new teams were added by the BCCI, but they failed as their bid was too low. This time, they are back with a very strong and smart offer.
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Diageo eyes $2.1 billion jackpot
Despite such a big bid on the table, Diageo may still want more. Following RCB’s historic IPL win, the owners are reportedly looking at a price closer to $2.1 billion (over Rs 16,321 crore).
The numbers reflect not just one title, but RCB’s loyal fan base, star power and the global popularity it has built over the years. Well, nothing has been decided yet and the process is still open.
RCB’s IPL story so far
Royal Challengers Bangalore is one of the original teams of IPL. Since their debut in 2008, they have reached the IPL finals four times but managed to win the trophy only once in 2025 when they defeated Punjab Kings in the final.
They finished as runners-up in 2009, losing to Deccan Chargers, again in 2011 against Chennai Super Kings, and in 2016 against Sunrisers Hyderabad. The team also came close to another title in the 2011 Champions League T20 but lost to Mumbai Indians in the final.
| Year | total tally | Victory | loses out | no results | tied and won | bound and lost | win % | Situation |
| 2008 | 14 | 4 | 10 | – | – | – | 29.90 | league stage |
| 2009 | 16 | 9 | 7 | – | – | – | 56.25 | runner-up |
| 2010 | 16 | 8 | 8 | – | – | – | 50 | play-off |
| 2011 | 16 | 10 | 5 | 1 | – | – | 66.67 | runner-up |
| 2012 | 16 | 8 | 7 | 1 | – | – | 53.34 | league stage |
| 2013 | 16 | 9 | 6 | – | 1 | 1 | 56.25 | league stage |
| 2014 | 14 | 5 | 9 | – | – | – | 35.71 | league stage |
| 2015 | 16 | 8 | 6 | 2 | – | – | 57.14 | play-off |
| 2016 | 16 | 9 | 7 | – | – | – | 56.25 | runner-up |
| 2017 | 14 | 3 | 10 | 1 | – | – | 23.07 | league stage |
| 2018 | 14 | 6 | 8 | – | – | – | 42.86 | league stage |
| 2019 | 14 | 5 | 8 | 1 | – | – | 38.46 | league stage |
| 2020 | 15 | 7 | 8 | – | 1 | – | 46.6 | play-off |
| 2021 | 15 | 9 | 6 | – | – | – | 60.00 | play-off |
| 2022 | 16 | 9 | 7 | – | – | – | 56.25 | play-off |
| 2023 | 14 | 7 | 7 | – | – | – | 50 | league stage |
| 2024 | 14 | 7 | 7 | – | – | – | 50 | play-off |
| 2025 | 14 | 9 | 4 | 1 | – | – | 64.28 | winners |
| Total | 265 | 127 | 130 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 49.1 |