United Tops Forbes Rich List Again
Manchester United has retained its position at the top of the annual Forbes magazine list of the most valuable football clubs in the world with the magazine placing a £1.19bn price tag on the English Premier League club.
United, who came second in the comparative rich list compiled by Deloitte in February, reversed its positioning with Real Madrid which Forbes valued at £859m. English rivals Arsenal were surprisingly named third most valuable at £767m.
Forbes’ list uses data on income streams such as broadcast rights, sponsorship and sales of tickets and merchandise.
Barcelona is fourth in the 20-team list which includes six clubs from the Premier League plus Newcastle United who have spent this season playing in the Coca-Cola Championship.
Liverpool, Chelsea and AC Milan all made the top 10, but the trio’s value had each fallen by 19% in the 2008/09 season according to the Forbes calculations.
Juventus and Olympic Marseille had the two biggest increases in value – each gaining 9% on the previous year.
While the scenario painted by Forbes suggested continued economic success, the average worth of the clubs in the list fell 8.5%.
