Manchester United Top Real Madrid, Barcelona in Forbes Magazine's Rich List

Manchester United are the richest club in football.

Again.

From ESPN Soccernet:

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Manchester United have fended off Europe's big guns to be named the world's richest club for an eighth year in a row.

United had a successful year on the pitch, winning a record-breaking 19th English top-flight title last term, and that was mirrored off the pitch as a commercial deal propelled their value, according to Forbes Magazine, to a huge £1.39 billion.

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But that's not all. From the original Forbes article, we learn that United are the most valuable sports team on the planet.

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The most valuable team is Manchester United, which won the English Premiership in 2011 and is owned by billionaire Malcolm Glazer and his family. The Red Devils, which have been the top soccer team every year since Forbes began calculating valuations for the sport in 2004, are worth $2.24 billion, 20% more than last year. Manchester United’s global fan base of some 330 million also helps makes it the most valuable team in any sport, worth $385 million more than both Major League Baseball’s New York Yankees and the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League.

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According to Forbes, United's financial might comes, in part, from a combination of broadcasting revenue ($192 million for the 2010-11 season alone) and prize money from their run to the UEFA Champions League final in 2011 ($80 million payout from UEFA).

According to ESPN Soccernet, Real Madrid and Barcelona bring in more revenue than United. Real (worth £1.6 billion) and Barcelona (£816 million) are second and third on the list.

Surprisingly (to me, as an Arsenal fan), Arsenal are fourth at £800 million—ahead of Bayern Munich (£766 million), Chelsea (£474 million), Liverpool (£386 million) and Manchester City (£276 million).

So, United fans. Is this good news? Or does it mean little in the Glazer era?

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