Real usurp Man Utd as world's most valuable club
Real Madrid unseated Manchester United as the world's most valuable football club, according to the annual list published by business magazine Forbes on Wednesday.
Real Madrid, who in 2018 won the Champions League for a third consecutive year, were valued at $4.24 billion, up nine percent from a year ago, Forbes said.
Barcelona were second on the list with a value of $4 billion while Manchester United, who held top spot in each of the last two years, were third with a value of $3.8 billion.cheap nfl nike jerseys china
"Soccer team values are increasing because companies continue to increase the amount of money they pay teams for shirt and kit rights, and sponsorships," said Michael Ozanian, assistant managing editor at Forbes.
"Soccer is the most popular team sport in the world and soccer players are running billboards for brands."
Another report released on Thursday said that the "big five" European leagues enjoyed record revenues in the 2017-18 season as a result of new broadcasting deals in Germany and growth in UEFA distributions to English clubs.
The combined revenue of the five major leagues -- in England, Spain, Germany, Italy and France -- was €15.6 billion ($17.40 billion), representing a six percent increase from the previous season.
Deloitte's 28th Annual Review of Football Finance said the European football market is now worth a record €28.4 billion, which was also driven by last year's World Cup in Russia.
"European club football is in the strongest financial position that we've ever seen," said Dan Jones, partner and head of the Sports Business Group at Deloitte.cheap nike nfl jerseys wholesale
"This reflects the drive among leading clubs to generate ever greater revenues to fund success on the pitch and also the sustained efforts of UEFA to improve profitability and sustainability of clubs through Financial Fair Play and club licensing.
"While the Premier League retains its leading position financially, we expect to see other leagues continue to grow in the coming years."
