Manchester United are the world's most valuable soccer club for a second consecutive year, according to the annual list published by Forbes on Tuesday.
The English Premier League runners-up, who last year ended European champions Real Madrid's four-year stint at the top of the list, were valued at $4.12 billion, up 12 percent from a year ago, Forbes said in a statement.
Manchester United are the world's most valuable football club for a second consecutive year. Barcelona and Real Madrid are closing in.
— ESPN UK (@ESPNUK) June 12, 2018
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The average value of the top 20, which relates to the 2016-17 season, rose by 14 percent over the period.
Real Madrid, who last month won a third straight Champions League title, were second, with a value of $4.08 billion, up 14 percent from the previous year.
.@ManUtd top #Forbes’ list of most valuable #Football clubs for second consecutive year
— The Field (@thefield_in) June 12, 2018
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Barcelona ($4.06 billion), Bayern Munich ($3.06 billion) and United's neighbours Manchester City ($2.47 billion) rounded off the top five.
Six English clubs feature in the top 10.
According to Forbes, which bases valuation on the level of equity plus net debt, Barcelona or Real Madrid could soon take over top spot -- the former because of their consistently high performance in the Champions League and the latter because of additional expected revenue from their renovated stadium when completed in four years.
Forbes said the 20 most valuable soccer teams are now worth an average of $1.69 billion, a rise it attributed to the decline in the value of the U.S. dollar relative to the Euro.
Manchester United are the world's most valuable football club. https://t.co/7deficykgx
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) June 13, 2018
The 10 most valuable soccer teams (in billions):
1. Manchester United ($4.12)
2. Real Madrid ($4.08)
3. Barcelona ($4.06)
4. Bayern Munich ($3.06)
5. Manchester City ($2.47)
6. Arsenal ($2.23)
7. Chelsea ($2.06)
8. Liverpool ($1.94)
9. Juventus ($1.47)
10. Tottenham Hotspur ($1.23)
