Football: Cup's gone, but the big money remains

Spain may have been embarrassingly dethroned as World Cup holders, but Real Madrid and Barcelona are still champions at making money.

The two clubs have been named the world's richest sports franchises.

For the second successive year, Forbes business magazine tagged European champions Real Madrid, where Cristiano Ronaldo plays, as the No1 sports team with a value of US$3.44 billion ($3.96 billion).

Barcelona, the home of Lionel Messi, Neymar and now the notorious Luis Suarez, are second in the chart with a value of US$3.2 billion/

English giants Manchester United are ranked third at US$2.81 billion despite their miserable season.

The only other football club in the top 10 are German champions Bayern Munich, in seventh spot with a value of US$1.85 billion.

The rest of the top 10 is from Major League Baseball and the National Football League in the United States.

The New York Yankees are No4, valued at US$2.5 billion, and the Dallas Cowboys, worth US$2.3 billion, hold fifth place.

With 30 teams in the top 50 for the second consecutive year, the NFL occupies 60 per cent of this year's list, which also includes six teams from MLB and four from basketball's NBA.

The NFL's prominent standing on the list and the possible sale of the Los Angeles Clippers to former Microsoft head Steve Ballmer for US$2 billion shows the value of big market sports teams in the US is higher than ever.

Forbes said the stock market's bull run over the last five years, soaring television rights and a limited number of teams for sale has contributed to skyrocketing values.

The average value of the top 50 teams is US$1.34 billion, which is an eight per cent increase from last year, according to Forbes, which has been rating the world's leading sports clubs since 1998.

Forbes' sports rich list
1. Real Madrid ($3.44 billion)
2. Barcelona ($3.2 billion)
3. Manchester United ($2.81 billion)
4. New York Yankees ($2.5 billion)
5. Dallas Cowboys ($2.3 billion)
6. Los Angeles Dodgers ($2.02 billion)
7. Bayern Munich ($1.85 billion)
8. New England Patriots ($1.82 billion)
9. Washington Redskins ($1.72 billion)
10. New York Giants ($1.57 billion).

*All in US dollars

-AFP