European champions Real Madrid are the world’s most valuable soccer club for a third straight year, according to a Forbes poll released on Wednesday.
It showed the average value of the top 20 teams rose 11 percent over last year. The Spanish club’s value fell five percent to 3.26 billion dollars but their 746 million dollars in revenue, the highest of any sports team in the world, was enough to keep them top of the list.
Barcelona, Manchester United, German champions Bayern Munich and Manchester City rounded out the top five. The others are Chelsea, Arsernal, Liverpool, Serie A champions juventus and AC milan.
Forbes said the once-great Serie A brand has been undermined over the past decade by match-fixing scandals, antiquated stadiums, rising debts and a decline in talent on the pitch.
