Zidane: His Real Madrid lose top spot on rich list

It was the first time since Forbes began compiling their annual top 50 lists of the most valuable sports teams in the world, that a non-soccer club will lead the way this year.

Manchester United held the crown of most valuable in 2011 and 2012, and Real Madrid did so the last three years, but on this occasion the Dallas Cowboys rank first with a value of $4billion (£3.31bn), up 25%.

According to a report by The Mail online, NFL franchises make up 27 of the 50 most valuable sports teams in the world in 2016’s rankings, with Real down to second, Barcelona in third (having been fourth in 2015), and United staying in fifth. Barcelona came in with a value of $3.55bn (£2.70bn).

Real’s fall comes despite a value of $3.65bn (£2.76bn) and a 12% increase in value from last year, when they featured at the summit of the chart.

Los Blancos won their 11th European league title in May when they defeated city rivals Atletico Madrid on penalties in the final, held at the San Siro in Milan.

The Spanish powerhouse, stocked with a pantheon of stars led by the world’s highest-paid athlete Cristiano Ronaldo, tops a group of eight football clubs on the list.

Real had the highest revenue of any sports team in the world at $694m (£527m) during the 2014-2015 season and the club will get a boost from an extension to its adidas kit deal signed earlier in the year.

The pact is worth $1.6bn (£1.22bn) over 10 years – four times more than their previous agreement.

Barca, home to five-time Ballon d’Or winner Lionel Messi, signed its own lucrative kit deal with Nike this year, which is expected to set a record and be worth as much as $175m (£133m) a year.

The Blaugrana will now hope that their $650m (£494m) renovation of the Nou Camp in 2017 – which will modernise and expand the capacity of the stadium to 105,000 – will help them to challenge Real for the highest revenues in football.

Baseball side New York Yankees rank fourth, worth $3.4bn (£2.58bn), up 6%. The Bronx Bombers head seven MLB teams in the top 50, down from 12 the previous year.

Attendance fell 5.5% last year at the Yankee Stadium in the first season without Derek Jeter at shortstop in two decades. The cumulative 3.2m supporters were still top in the American League.

Reported by Mail Online: