Money has taken over the game of soccer, evident by monster transfer fees like the $76 million Manchester City paid for Raheem Sterling and television contracts, among other things.
And it shows when it comes to the most valuable sports teams in the world. Forbes listed the 50 most valuable franchises of 2015, and it includes seven soccer teams, including three of the top five. According to Forbes, the average value for the top 50 is $1.75 billion, up 31 percent from 2014.
Real Madrid, No. 1 on the list and led by star Cristiano Ronaldo, had the highest annual revenue in all of sports with $746 million, with that including TV deals, merchandise sales and more. Barcelona, with Lionel Messi leading the charge, alongside Real Madrid, benefit greatly by the TV rights deals in Spain, which has long heavily favored the two.
Here are the top 10 teams.
1. Real Madrid (soccer)
Value: $3.26 billion
2. (Tie) Dallas Cowboys (NFL) and New York Yankees (MLB)
Value: $3.2 billion
4. Barcelona (socccer)
Value: $3.16 billion
5. Manchester United (soccer)
Value: $3.1 billion
6. (tie) Los Angeles Lakers (NBA) and New England Patriots (NFL)
Value: $2.6 billion
8. New York Knicks (NBA)
Value: $2.5 billion
9. Los Angeles Dodgers (MLB) and Washington Redskins (NFL)
Value: $2.4 billion
Other soccer clubs include No. 11 Bayern Munich ($2.35 billion), No. 29 Manchester City ($1.39 billion), No. 31 Chelsea ($1.37 billion) and No. 36 Arsenal ($1.31 billion).
Source: cbssports.com
