Man United overtake Real Madrid to top Forbes football rich list

Manchester United have replaced European champions Real Madrid as the world’s most valuable soccer team, according to the annual list published by Forbes on Tuesday.

United were valued at $3.69 billion, an 11 percent jump compared to last year. That was a testament to the team’s powerful brand and marketing acumen, Forbes said in a statement.

Barcelona are second on the list with a value of $3.64 billion while Real Madrid, who held top spot for the last four years, fell to third place with a value of $3.58 billion.

Rounding out the top five were Bayern Munich ($2.71 billion) and Manchester City (2.08 billion).

Six Premier League teams featured in the top 10, with United and City joined by Arsenal ($1.93 billion), Chelsea ($1.85 billion) Liverpool ($1.49 billion) and Tottenham Hotspur ($1.06 billion).

German champions Bayern Munich ($2.71 billion) were ranked fourth while Serie A champions Juventus ($1.26 billion) were ninth.

Forbes also said the average value of the top 20 teams rose 3 percent over last year to $1.48 billion.