Manchester United have been named the most valuable sports team in the world. The Red Devils are worth a mind-boggling �1.165BILLION - eclipsing giant American franchises like the Dallas Cowboys and New York Yankees.
The assessment of United's worth takes in the value of the team, stadium, income and sponsorship deals it attracts. It is good news for the Glazer family, who bought the club for �790m in 2005. However, they also plunged it into debt and United are still in the red to the tune of around �500million.
United's advertising revenue had a big impact on their position - with the �80m, four-year shirt sponsorship deal they signed with Aon and �300m 13-year tie-up with Nike major factors. Real Madrid were the second-highest place football club on the list, finishing in fifth place and valued at �900m.
And there was good news for Arsenal fans, with their team coming seventh with a value of �740m. Roman Abramovich's Chelsea could only muster 46th in the table while other soccer teams making up the top 50 included Bayern Munich (19th), AC Milan (34th) and Juventus (49th).
Meanwhile Barcelona � widely reguarded as the best club side around � came only 26th in the rankings. The Catalan club is said to be worth �606million.
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