Manchester United 'world's most valuable football club'

Top of the table: Manchester United with last year's Premier League trophy
13 April 2012

Manchester United may be out of the Champions League and face a scrap to retain the Premier League title, but they have topped the table for the world's most valuable clubs.

The Old Trafford side held on to top spot in Forbes Magazine's list of the 20 most valuable football teams, worth £1.19 billion, a two per cent fall on last year.

England has seven representatives in the list - despite the Premier League being the most indebted in Europe, according to Uefa.

Arsenal were third, Liverpool sixth, Chelsea ninth, Tottenham Hotspur 12th and big-spending Manchester City 19th.

The surprise inclusion was Newcastle United, who were rated as 20th most valuable despite their relegation to the Championship.

Peter Schwartz, a business sports writer for Forbes, praised Manchester United's resilience as "one of the world's biggest sporting brands".

"The club has really established itself as one of the top brands in world sport. New kit deals and great marketing has seen them maintain their status despite all the problems of the global recession," he said.

Real Madrid was forced to settle for second place, despite signing Cristiano Ronaldo from United last summer.

The world's 20 most valuable clubs generated a combined £422 million in operating income last season. Combined revenues grew by £23.4 million to £3.57 billion for the 2008-09 season.

"The top five clubs took in 86% of the total because their worldwide following allows them to grab much more sponsorship and media revenue," a spokesman said.

Broadcast rights account for 42% of the revenue of Europe's top 20 clubs.

THE TOP 10 MOST VALUABLE CLUBS

1 Manchester United - £1.18 billion (down 2% on last year)
2 Real Madrid - £855 million (down 2%)
3 Arsenal - £764 million (down 2%)
4 Barcelona - £647 million (up 4%)
5 Bayern Munich - £640 million(down 11%)
6 Liverpool - £532 million (down 19%)
7 AC Milan - £517 million (down 19%)
8 Juventus - £424 million (up 9%)
9 Chelsea - £418 million (down 19%)
10 Inter Milan - £267 million (up 12%)

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