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Friday, 17 July 2015 00:20 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
REUTERS: Spanish soccer club Real Madrid retained top spot on a list of the world’s 50 most valuable sports teams, according to a Forbes poll released on Wednesday that was made up mostly of National Football League franchises.
The value of the 10-times European champions fell five percent from last year to $3.26 billion due to a drop in the euro versus the U.S. dollar, but revenue of $746 million, the highest of any team, kept them top, Forbes said in a statement.
The NFL’s Dallas Cowboys, up three spots from last year, and Major League Baseball’s New York Yankees, up from fourth place in 2014, were tied for second with a value of $3.20 billion.
Global soccer powers Barcelona ($3.16 billion) and Manchester United ($3.10) rounded out the top five.
The NFL led all sports with 20 franchises in the top-50, followed by MLB (12), the National Basketball Association (10) and soccer (7).
Formula One’s Ferrari (1.35 billion) were ranke
d 32nd while the Toronto Maple Leafs ($1.3 billion), tied in 37th, were the only National Hockey League team on the list.
According to Forbes, which began valuing sports franchises in 1998, the world’s 50 most valuable teams are worth an average $1.75 billion, up 31% from 2014.
Forbes also said the minimum valuation to make the cut rose to $1.15 billion, up from $856 million a year ago, due largely to the soaring worth of NBA and MLB teams.
