Real Madrid unseats Manchester United as most valuable team-Forbes

April 17 (Reuters) – Nine-time European champion Real Madrid have ended Manchester United‘s run as the world’s most valuable soccer team, according to an annual survey released by Forbes on Wednesday.

The value of Real, a Spanish club owned by its thousands of members, surged 76 percent to $3.3 billion from a year ago, Forbes said in a statement. (www.forbes.com/soccer)

United, who have won the English title a record 19 times and are controlled by the American Glazer family, rose 42 percent to $3.2 billion but dropped to second on the list for the first time since Forbes began tracking soccer finances in 2004.

Real’s Spanish rivals Barcelona ($2.6 billion), England’s Arsenal ($1.33 billion) and German side Bayern Munich ($1.31 billion) rounded out the top five.

The top 20 soccer teams are worth an average of $968 million, an increase of 26 percent over last year, Forbes said.