Spanish soccer club Real Madrid are worth $US3.3 billion ($A3.65 billion), making them the most valuable sports franchise on the planet, Forbes magazine said on Monday in its annual list.
"Los Merengues finished runner-up this year in La Liga and the Copa del Rey, but nab the title of the world's most valuable sports team thanks to the highest revenues in sports ($650 million during the 2011-12 season)," the magazine said.
With revenues up 62 per cent over the past three years, Real Madrid's latest pacts with Adidas and Emirates Airlines "will bring in roughly $80 million combined annually," Forbes said.
Real Madrid, whose laurels include 32 Spanish league championships and nine Champions League titles, are joined in the top 10 of the Forbes list by three other European soccer clubs with global followings.
Manchester United, valued at $US3.17 billion ($A3.5 billion), are in second place, followed by Real Madrid archrival FC Barcelona ($2.6 billion), while London club Arsenal are 10th, with a value of $1.3 billion.
Baseball's New York Yankees ($2.3 billion) stand at No.4 and the fifth spot is claimed by the NFL's Dallas Cowboys ($2.1 billion).
Next come the New England Patriots ($1.63 billion) and the MLB's Los Angeles Dodgers ($1.61 billion). The eighth and ninth slots are filled by two other NFL clubs, the Washington Redskins ($1.6 billion) and the New York Giants ($1.46 billion).
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