Real Madrid top Forbes' most valuable sports teams list

Wednesday 15 July 2015 21:49, UK

Spanish giants Real Madrid have topped Forbes' list of the world's most valuable sports teams for the third year running.

The 10-time European Cup winners head the world rankings with a value of $US 3.26billion (£2.08bn), ahead of NFL franchise Dallas Cowboys and MLB's New York Yankees, which are both valued at $3.2bn (£2.04bn).

Manchester United remain England's most valuable club, despite dropping from third in 2014 to fifth on the list this year at $3.1bn (£1.98bn).

Manchester City, valued at $1.39bn or £890m, are 29th overall, Chelsea ($1.37bn or £877m) sit 31st and Arsenal ($1.31bn or £839m) are placed 36th.

The American business magazine has been valuing teams in the major sports leagues since 1998.

Champions League holders Barcelona, who sit fourth on the list with a value of $3.16bn (£2.02bn), are the remaining top five team.

American sports dominate the rest of the top 10.

The NBA's Los Angeles Lakers and New York Knicks, the New England Patriots and Washington Redskins of the NFL and baseball's Los Angeles Dodgers all make the top 10.

Ferrari, at $1.35bn (£865m), rank 32nd and are Europe's only non-football representative on the list.

The average current value of a team on the list is $1.75bn (£1.12bn), the highest ever, which represents a 31 per cent increase from last year.