As Real Madrid and Barcelona duke it out for La Liga, they are also duking it out to see which club is the most valuable in world soccer. According to Forbes, los Merengues have won that battle.
Real and Barca are one and two respectively at the top of that list, valued at $3.65 billion and $3.55 billion. Both still trail the Dallas Cowboys, who are valued at $4 billion, for the top spot overall. Barca’s value increased by 12 percent from this time last year, thanks in large part to the announcement of a refurbished Camp Nou, which should be finished in about four to five years.
The third most valuable soccer team in the world is Manchester United at about $3.32 billion.
Rounding out the top five are Bayern Munich, valued at $2.68 billion and Arsenal at $2.02 billion. Eight of the top 20 clubs are English, thanks in large part to their immense TV deal in England, which is the second most valuable domestic TV rights deal in the world ($2.6B) and only three years long. It’s more than double the value of the next highest one, Serie A’s $1.08B deal.
In case you’re wondering, Leicester City is not in the top 20 most valuable clubs, though they could easily end up there next season. The Thai ownership group bought the club for £39m in 2010, and the value could be as high as £436m now according to one estimate.
