Manchester United named most valuable football club in the world

English giant, Manchester United have been named as the world's most valuable football club by Forbes for the first time in five years. The American business magazine value the Old Trafford club at $3.69 billion, ahead of Spanish giants Barcelona and Real Madrid in second and third respectively.
 
Barcelona are valued at $3.64 billion in second, while Real Madrid dropped from first in the last four years to be ranked third this yer with a value of $3.58 billion.

Bayern Munich valued at $2.71 billion is fourth followed by Manchester City valued at $2.08 billion in fifth completing the top five. 

Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Juventus and Tottenham make up the rest of the top 10.

"Manchester United's return to the top spot is a testament to their powerful brand and marketing acumen," said Mike Ozanian, assistant managing editor at Forbes Media.

According to Forbes, United generated revenues of $765 million during the 2015-16 season, $77 million more than both Barcelona and Madrid.

They are also the most profitable club, posting operating income of $288 million -- $107 million more than second-placed Madrid.

United were last week named Europe's most valuable football club following a report by auditors KPMG, which valued the club at €3.004 billion ($3.39 billion).

The club in May announced projected full-year revenues of between £560 million and £570 million ($722 million and $731 million) and expected profits that could surpass their current record of £191.9 million ($247.5 million).

United currently have 26 global sponsorship deals, including with Adidas, Chevrolet, 20th Century Fox and Uber, as well as 10 regional sponsorship deals and 28 other media and financial sponsors.

The Rankings

Rank	Club	Value	Change	Revenue	Income
1	Manchester United	$3.69bn	+11%	$765m	$288m
2	Barcelona	$3.64bn	+2%	$688m	$113m
3	Real Madrid	$3.58bn	-2%	$688m	$181m
4	Bayern Munich	$2.71bn	+1%	$657m	$120m
5	Manchester City	$2.08bn	+8%	$583m	$162m
6	Arsenal	$1.93bn	-4%	$520m	$122m
7	Chelsea	$1.85bn	+11%	$497m	$52m
8	Liverpool	$1.49bn	-4%	$448m	$29m
9	Juventus	$1.26bn	-3%	$379m	$58m
10	Tottenham Hotspur	$1.06bn	+4%	$310m	$68m