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10 most valuable soccer teams of 2015

  • No. 8 Liverpool $982 million
    1/6

    Football: Liverpool's Steven Gerrard celebrates scoring their second goal

    No. 8 Liverpool $982 million
    REUTERS
  • No. 5 Manchester City $1.38 billion
    2/6

    Football: Manchester City players during a minutes silence

    No. 5 Manchester City $1.38 billion
    REUTERS
  • No. 4 Bayern Munich $2.35 billion
    3/6

    Bayern Munich fans cheer prior to German Cup semi-final soccer match against Borussia Dortmund in Munich

    No. 4 Bayern Munich $2.35 billion
    REUTERS
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  • No. 3 Manchester United $3.10 billion
    4/6

    Football: Manchester United line up for a minutes applause before the game for the death of former Everton Chairman Sir Philip Carter and the 30th anniversary of the Bradford City fire

    No. 3 Manchester United $3.10 billion
    REUTERS
  • No. 2 Barcelona $3.16 billion
    5/6

    Barcelona's Suarez, Neymar and Messi celebrate a goal against Atletico Madrid during their Spanish First Division soccer match in Barcelona

    No. 2 Barcelona $3.16 billion
    REUTERS
  • No. 1 Real Madrid $3.26 billion
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    Football: Real Madrid team group

    No. 1 Real Madrid $3.26 billion
    REUTERS
No. 8 Liverpool $982 million
No. 5 Manchester City $1.38 billion
No. 4 Bayern Munich $2.35 billion
No. 3 Manchester United $3.10 billion
No. 2 Barcelona $3.16 billion
No. 1 Real Madrid $3.26 billion
Yahoo Sports

May 6 (Reuters) - European champions Real Madrid are the world's most valuable soccer club for a third straight year, according to a Forbes poll released on Wednesday that showed the average value of the top 20 teams rose 11 percent over last year.

The Spanish club's value fell five percent to $3.26 billion but their $746 million in revenue, the highest of any sports team in the world, was enough to keep them top of the list, Forbes said in a statement.

Barcelona ($3.16 billion), Manchester United ($3.10 billion), German champions Bayern Munich ($2.35 billion) and Manchester City ($1.35 billion) rounded out the top five.

Rising television and shirt sponsorship revenue helped drive the average value of the top 20 clubs to $1.16 billion, a staggering 84 percent jump from five years ago.

Eight of the top 20 teams are from the English Premier League, which Forbes credited to both a rise in the British pound relative to the euro and U.S. dollar and a lucrative new domestic TV deal starting from the 2016-17 season.

Serie A champions Juventus ($837 million), AC Milan ($775 million), Inter Milan ($439 million) and Napoli ($353 million) are the only Italian teams to crack the top 20 but none were higher than ninth place.

Forbes said the once-great Serie A brand has been undermined over the past decade by match-fixing scandals, antiquated stadiums, rising debts and a decline in talent on the pitch.