Real Madrid crowned as most valuable sports team in world

YEREVAN, JULY 16, ARMENPRESS. Real Madrid are the most valuable sports team in the world finishing ahead of NFL giants Dallas Cowboys and MLB's New York Yankees for a third successive year in Forbes' annual list. As Armenpress reports citing “Daily Mail,” the 10-time Champions League winners topped the magazine's list, dwarfing La Liga rivals Barcelona's figure by over £50million with an estimated valuation of £2,087m ($3,263m).

Manchester United were the only Barclays Premier League club to feature in the top 10, althoughthey arejoined by Manchester City, Chelsea and Arsenal in the wider 50-team long-list.

American business magazine Forbes have been valuing teams from major sports leagues since 1998, and sides from their native sports in the US make up most of the table with just seven football clubs included. Behind Barca, on £2,023m ($3,163m) in fourth, and United, valued at £1,975m ($3,104m), in fifth, Los Angeles Lakers, New England Patriots, New York Knicks, Los Angeles Dodgers and Washington Redskins make up the top 10. Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich are just outside the leading pack with a value of £1,502m ($2,347m). City are 29th, Chelsea are 30th and Arsenal are at 36.

Interestingly, the three mainland European clubs among the big-money teams are all member-owned while the English sides rely on private ownership.

Sheik Mansour's purchase of the blue half of Manchester catapulted City into the European elite in 2008 while Roman Abramovich's impact at Chelsea was similar in 2003. United and Arsenal have been fairly consistent members of this list throughout the Premier League years. While Real's value is slightly down on last year, the average value of a top-50 side is up 31 per cent on 12 months ago at £1.12billion ($1.75bn). Ferrari - ranked 32nd - are the only non-football team from Europe to make the list. The upcoming £5.14bn bumper television deal that comes into force from the 2016-17 season could help to further boost the prospects of Premier League sides in Forbes' coming lists.