Manchester United may have been second best to their City rivals last season but they have retained their position as the most valuable sports team in the world.  The annual Forbes list places a value of $2.23 billion (€1.81 billion) on United placing the club 19% ahead of nearest rival Real Madrid.
The news is a boost ahead of its looking to return to at least partial public ownership through a flotation on the New York Stock Exchange. The Glazer family incurred substantial debt when buying the club in 2005 for less than $1.5 billion (€1.2 billion).
Sponsorship is a significant part of the club income with Aon insurance paying over €20 million a year to feature on the front of the jersey.  DHL sponsors the team’s training gear at an estimated value of more than €10 million a year while Nike’s merchandising agreement is worth more than €30 million.
Arsenal also make the top ten of world sports teams by value while all 32 of the NFL franchises, headed by the Dallas Cowboys and the Washington Redskins are listed in the Top 50.
The Cowboys are reported to generate more than €120 million annual revenue from stadium sponsorship deals and premium seating in their new stadium.
The only other non US teams in the top 20 are Barcelona at number 8, Bayern Munich at number 11 and Formula One’s Ferrari who extended a €40 million a year sponsorship deal with Santander last year and who also benefit from one of the biggest sponsorship deals in sport with Marlboro paying more than €100 million a year to be associated with the cars, albeit just in abstract form because of restrictions in most countries on the promotion of tobacco.
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