Real Madrid beat Manchester United, become richest club in the world

Since 2004, business analysts, Forbes, have compiled a list of the world’s richest football clubs. Manchester United had maintained top spot in that list till last year, but Real Madrid have raced ahead of the Premier League club this time around, and now lead the table.

Forbes said in a statement: “This is the first time since Forbes began valuing soccer teams in 2004 that Manchester United is not No.1 on the list.

“Real Madrid has been consistently delivering the highest revenues of any soccer team in the world, despite an intense economic meltdown in Spain. With superstars like Cristiano Ronaldo on the pitch, and coach Jose Mourinho on the bench, Real Madrid has thrived under the leadership of billionaire president Florentino Perez.”

Forbes’ top 5 richest clubs have Barcelona in third and Arsenal at fourth, ahead of Bayern Munich at fifth place.

The team values (equity plus debt) are based on the revenue that teams garner from television, premium seating, media, licensing, merchandise and concessions.