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Real Madrid named most valuable club by Forbes, Barcelona second

Real Madrid have remained the most valuable football team in the world for a fourth year in a row, according to US business magazine Forbes.

Madrid lead the way from rivals Barcelona, with Manchester United sitting in third place.

Madrid's value stands at $3.645 billion (£2.52bn) and their annual revenue is $694 million (£480m), a slender advantage over Barcelona in both categories.

Barcelona are shown to have a value of $3.549bn (£2.46bn), with United said to be worth $3.317bn (£2.3bn).

Six Premier League teams feature in the top 10, with United joined by Arsenal, Manchester City, Chelsea, Liverpool and Tottenham.

Forbes said the top 20 teams are collectively worth 24 percent more than the teams that filled those positions 12 months ago, citing increased income from television contracts and kit deals.

The study said Real Madrid ranked as the world's second richest sports team, behind only the Dallas Cowboys American football team, which it valued at $4bn (£2.77bn).

Forbes' top 10 world's most valuable football teams:

1 Real Madrid: $3.645bn (£2.52billion)
2 Barcelona: $3.549bn (£2.46bn)
3 Manchester United: $3.317bn (£2.3bn)
4 Bayern Munich: $2.678bn (£1.85bn)
5 Arsenal: $2.017bn (£1.4bn)
6 Manchester City: $1.921bn (£1.33bn)
7 Chelsea: $1.661bn (£1.15bn)
8 Liverpool: $1.548bn (£1.07bn)
9 Juventus: $1.299bn (£900m)
10 Tottenham: $1.017bn (£704m)