photo by Javier Garcia/ISIphotos.com
By FRANCO PANIZO
When it comes to the world’s most valuable soccer clubs, Spain currently takes the cake.
Forbes named its latest list of most valuable teams on Wednesday, and Real Madrid and Barcelona grabbed first and second place, respectively, to mark the first time that two Spanish sides have finished in the top two spots since Forbes began compiling this list a decade ago.
According to Forbes, Real Madrid’s revenue for the 2012-13 campaign was $675 million. That figure is the most of any team in any sport in history and has helped the club become worth $3.44 billion, which is up more than four percent from where they were a year ago.
Barcelona, meanwhile, posted the second-highest revenue at $627 million and are up 23 percent from last year to currently be worth $3.2 billion.
Manchester United finished in third and is worth $2.8 billion. The English heavyweights value fell 11 percent due to the subpar campaign in the Premiership and missing out on next season’s UEFA Champions League, but their new seven-year jersey deal with Chevrolet has helped them recover some of those financial losses.
Bayern Munich, last year’s Champions League winners, saw a 41 percent increase in value. The German giants are now worth $1.85 billion.
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What do you make of these numbers? Surprised that Madrid and Barcelona finished in the top two spots? Think there’s too much money in soccer these days?
Share your thoughts below.