Forbes' list of the most valuable soccer teams in the world is in and there's a new leader at the top as Real Madrid have surpassed Manchester United. Now worth $6.6 billion, the La Liga giants can capture their 15th Champions League title on June 1 after securing nine percent growth over the past year (you can follow all the coverage across CBS, CBS Sports Golazo Network and Paramount+). With Kylian Mbappe likely set to join Los Blancos during the summer, this is a spot that they may not be relinquishing anytime soon.
Manchester United has fallen to second after Jim Ratcliffe paid $6.5 billion for a partial stake of a team setting the record for the price paid in which the buyer also received operating rights. Now valued at $6.55 billion, Manchester United aren't far behind the La Liga giants as the Premeir League has 12 of Forbes' richest clubs, something that is a direct correlation with the average annual value of their TV deal being double that of the second highest deal. The Premier League has an AAV of $4.215 million followed by La Liga at $2.191 million.
| Rank | Team | League | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | Real Madrid | La Liga | $6.6 billion |
2 | Manchester United | Premier Leauge | $6.55 billion |
3 | Barcelona | La Liga | $5.6 billion |
4 | Liverpool | Premier Leauge | $5.37 billion |
5 | Manchester City | Premier League | $5.1 billion |
6 | Bayern Munich | Bundesliga | $5 billion |
7 | Paris Saint-Germain | Ligue 1 | $4.4 billion |
8 | Tottenham Hotspur | Premier Leauge | $3.2 billion |
9 | Chelsea | Premier Leauge | $3.1 billion |
10 | Arsenal | Premier League | $2.6 billion |
Even looking at the top 10, Premier League dominance is clear as six of the 10 most valuable teams in the world reside in England. League titles don't make much of a difference as Manchester City has won six of the last seven Premier League titles but teams like Tottenham and Chelsea are still competitive with teams who win their leagues yearly. Barcelona also didn't take much of a dip in the rankings despite their financial issues surrounding bringing in new players.
In their rankings, Forbes uses enterprise value that takes into account market value, debt, and liquid assets with figures supplied by Delloite. The average team on Forbes' list is now worth $2.3 billion which is a 5.1 percent increase from last year.
