The most valuable football clubs in the world, according to Forbes, Real Madrid, still tops the list, but the English Premier League has a strong showing.
Real Madrid have retained their place as the most valuable football team in the world for a third straight year, while the Premier League boasts eight teams in Forbes’ top 20.
The reigning European champions’ value has dropped five per cent to £2.13bn this year, but their £489m revenue is the highest of any sports team in the world.
La Liga rivals Barcelona are second in the 2015 list with a value of £2.07bn and revenue figures of £431m earning more from the Champions League – £101m – than any other team for the three years up to 2014.
Manchester United closely follow the Catalan giants as the third most valuable club at £2.03bn, which is set to rise further still after the club signed a record shattering 10-year deal with Adidas that begins next season and will net the club around £72m per year.
Louis van Gaal’s men are one of eight Premier League sides in the top 20, with Manchester City, Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool among the top-eight most valuable clubs.
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Tottenham, Newcastle and West Ham complete the Premier League’s representation, following the recent £5.136bn domestic television deal.
Chelsea and Manchester City were the two clubs whose value increased the most in the last year. Former Premier League champions City saw their overall value rise 59 per cent to £905m making them the fifth most valuable club in the world.
Meanwhile Chelsea, who claimed the title on Sunday, saw their value rise 58 per cent to £898m to leave them just behind City in sixth.
Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich, who have won the German title for the last three years and also lifted the Champions League in 2013, are the fourth most valuable club at £1.54bn.
The Bavarians’ commercial revenue totals £260m, a figure that is second only to French champions Paris Saint-Germain.
