Manchester United, Arsenal, Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester City in top eight of Forbes Rich List

Eight Premier League sides in the top 20

Simon Rice
Wednesday 06 May 2015 20:49 BST
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Rooney subsequently said on the club’s in-house TV station that he would never have signed for City
Rooney subsequently said on the club’s in-house TV station that he would never have signed for City

Manchester United, Arsenal, Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester City feature among the top eight richest football teams in the world.

Real Madrid have retained their place as the most valuable football team for a third straight year, but figures suggest Manchester United could soon topple them.

The reigning European champions' value has dropped five per cent to 3.26billion (£2.13billion) this year, but their £746million (£489million) revenue is the highest of any sports team in the world.

Rivals Barcelona are second in the 2015 list with a value of 3.16billion (£2.07billion), followed by Manchester United at 3.10billion (£2.03billion).

Manchester United lead the way among the Premier League sides, of which there are five in the top eight and eight among the top 20.

Manchester City rank the second highest of the English sides, ahead of newly crowned champions Chelsea. Arsenal and then Liverpool complete the five English sides in the top eight. Tottenham, Newcastle and West Ham complete the Premier League's representation in the top 20.

Chelsea are beaten into sixth place by Manchester City

Whilst third on the list is impressive, Manchester United could soon be higher. Unlike the Spanish giants the value of Louis van Gaal's side has grown this year, with Forbes reporting a 10 per cent increase.

No club are as adept at acquiring sponsorship as United, with US car giant Chevrolet's kit sponsorship deal worth a reported £53million per season.

Next term the coffers are to be boosted further after a mammoth £750million deal was struck with Adidas - a "global technical sponsorship and dual branded licensing deal" running for 10 years.

United believe it is the biggest kit deal in sport and may well help them surpass Barcelona and Real Madrid, especially given the recent £5.136billion domestic television deal.

Forbes' top 10 most valuable teams of 2015:

1) Real Madrid 3.26billion (£2.13billion)

2) Barcelona 3.16billion (£2.07billion)

3) Manchester United 3.10billion (£2.03billion)

4) Bayern Munich 2.35billion (£1.54billion)

5) Manchester City 1.38billion (£905million)

6) Chelsea 1.37billion (£898million)

7) Arsenal 1.31billion (£859million)

8) Liverpool 982million (£644million)

9) Juventus 837million (£549million)

10) AC Milan 775million (£508million)

Additional reporting by PA

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