Man Utd named most valuable sports team

English Premier League champions Manchester United have been named the most valuable sports team in the world, according to a report in 'The Sun'.

The Red Devils are worth a mind-boggling £1.165 billion - eclipsing giant American franchises like the Dallas Cowboys and New York Yankees, according to Forbes.

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 £500 million, the report added.
 
United's advertising revenue had a big impact on their position - with the £80 million, four-year shirt sponsorship deal they signed with Aon and £300 million 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 £900 million.

And there was good news for Arsenal fans, with their team coming seventh with a value of £740 million.

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 £606 million.

Top 10 most valuable sports teams
 
1. Manchester United £1.165 billion
2. Dallas Cowboys £1.13bn
3. New York Yankees £1.06bn
4. Washington Redskins £960 million
5. Real Madrid £900m
6. New England Patriots £850m
7. Arsenal £740m
8. New York Giants £734m
9. Houstan Texans £727m
10. New York Jets £708m

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