Manchester United named world's most valuable club again

Posted Thursday, April 22, 2010 by ESPN

Manchetser United fans are still vehemently opposed to Malcolm Glazer's ownership of the club

Manchester United has been named as the world's most valuable football club for the sixth year running, while Real Madrid sit second and Championship club Newcastle United come in 20th in the latest data released by Forbes Magazine.

Seven of the magazine's top 20 clubs, ordered by revenues generated and ignoring profit margins, come from England, where the Premier League is the most indebted league in Europe according to UEFA.

Arsenal (3rd), Liverpool (6th) and Chelsea (9th) trail United in the top ten, while Tottenham (12th) and Manchester City (19th) join surprise inclusion Newcastle in the top 20. European champions Barcelona came in fourth and Bayern Munich ranked at No.5. AC Milan (7th) were the highest team from Italy, while Lyon and Marseille represented France, the fifth nation in the top 20.

The top five clubs generated 86% of the combined revenues of the top 20 clubs, a statistic that may explain why some clubs have racked up massive debts in an effort to reach or remain at the very top of the football tree.

United, who have now topped the table for six years, were valued by Forbes at £1.19 billion after a 2% fall from last year. Peter Schwartz, a business sports writer for Forbes, praised United's resilience as "one of the world's biggest sporting brands''.

He said: "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.''

Real Madrid were 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, a Forbes spokesman said. Combined revenues grew by £23.4 million to £3.57 billion for the 2008-09 season, Forbes said.

"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 added."

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