There’s a ludicrous amount of money swishing about in football and that’s been the case for many years now.
The world’s best players are paid an absolute fortune - it won’t be long before a player earns £1 million a week - while the top football clubs are worth billions of pounds.
TV money for football clubs in the top tiers of Europe’s big leagues is higher than its ever been before and the biggest teams, rightly or wrongly, will continue to get richer and richer.
But football is not the only sport with teams worth billions.
Forbes have published a list of the world’s 50 most valuable sports teams of 2020, and it may come as a surprise to hear that only seven football clubs are listed.
The list is dominated by teams from the big American sports: American Football, basketball and baseball.
That said, three football clubs have made this year’s top 10.
Let’s take a look at Forbes’ list in full…
=49. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (NFL) | Value: $2.2 billion
=49. St Louis Cardinals (MLB) | Value: $2.2 billion
48. Arizona Cardinals (NFL) | Value: $2.25 billion
47. Arsenal (Football) | Value: $2.27 billion
Arsenal are the first of the seven football clubs to feature.
The north London outfit, who were purchased in 2011 for a fee worth $1.1 billion, are owned by American businessman Stan Kroenke.
46. New Orleans Saints (NFL) | Value: $2.28 billion
45. Kansas City Chiefs (NFL) | Value: $2.3 billion
44. Jacksonville Jaguars (NFL) | Value: $2.33 billion
=41. New York Mets (MLB) | Value: $2.4 billion
=41. Dallas Mavericks (NBA) | Value: $2.4 billion
=41. Carolina Panthers (NFL) | Value: $2.4 billion
40. Houston Rockets (NBA) | Value: $2.48 billion
=38. Los Angeles Chargers (NFL) | Value: $2.5 billion
=38. Brooklyn Nets (NBA) | Value: $2.5 billion
37. Chelsea (Football) | Value: $2.58 billion
Roman Abramovich famously bought Chelsea back in 2003 for $233 million.
The Blues, who have lifted plenty of silverware since the Russian billionaire took charge at Stamford Bridge, are now worth over 10 times that amount.
36. Los Angeles Clippers (NBA) | Value: $2.6 billion
35. Indianapolis Colts (NFL) | Value: $2.65 billion
34. Manchester City (Football) | Value: $2.69 billion
Manchester City have enjoyed the vast majority of their success since Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan completed his 2008 takeover.
Forbes say City cost $385 million at the time but are now worth a staggering $2.69 billion 12 years later.
33. Minnesota Vikings (NFL) | Value: $2.7 billion
32. Baltimore Ravens (NFL) | Value: $2.75 billion
31. Atlanta Falcons (NFL) | Value: $2.755 billion
30. Miami Dolphins (NFL) | Value: $2.76 billion
29. Seattle Seahawks (NFL) | Value: $2.78 billion
28. Pittsburgh Steelers (NFL) | Value: $2.8 billion
27. Green Bay Packers (NFL) | Value: $2.85 billion
26. Oakland Raiders (NFL) | Value: $2.9 billion
25. Denver Broncos (NFL) | Value: $3 billion
24. Bayern Munich (Football) | Value: $3.02 billion
The only German club to make Forbes’ list, the hugely successful Bundesliga giants are owned by its club members.
23. Philadelphia Eagles (NFL) | Value: $3.05 billion
=20. San Francisco Giants (MLB) | Value: $3.1 billion
=20. Houston Texans (NFL) | Value: $3.1 billion
=20. Boston Celtics (NBA) | Value: $3.1 billion
=17. New York Jets (NFL) | Value: $3.2 billion
=17. Chicago Cubs (MLB) | Value: $3.2 billion
=17. Chicago Bulls (NBA) | Value: $3.2 billion
16. Boston Red Sox (MLB) | Value: $3.3 billion
=14. Washington Football Team (NFL) | Value: $3.4 billion
=14. Los Angeles Dodgers (MLB) | Value: $3.4 billion
13. Chicago Bears (NFL) | Value: $3.45 billion
12. San Francisco 49ers (NFL) | Value: $3.5 billion
11. Los Angeles Rams (NFL) | Value: $3.8 billion
10. Manchester United (Football) | Value: $3.81 billion
Manchester United are the most valuable football club in England right now, according to Forbes’ latest research.
The Glazer family completed a deeply unpopular takeover of the club back in 2005 - a deal which was worth $1.4 billion. Despite their uneasy relationship with the club’s fans, they remain in charge at Old Trafford 15 years later.
9. New York Giants (NFL) | Value: $3.9 billion
8. Barcelona (Football) | Value: $4.02 billion
The second most valuable football club in 2020, Lionel Messi is surely at least partially responsible for Barcelona being this high up on the list.
The world’s best footballer has inspired the Catalan giants to numerous trophies over the past decade-and-a-half and football fans travel to Camp Nou from all over the world in order to watch the Argentine in the flesh.
7. New England Patriots (NFL) | Value: $4.1 billion
6. Real Madrid (Football) Value: $4.24 billion
But it won’t come as shock to hear that Real Madrid are the world’s most valuable football club.
The Spanish giants, who have won the European Cup more times than any other team, are now worth an eye-watering $4.24 billion.
And now for the top five….
5. Golden State Warriors (NBA) | Value: $4.3 billion
4. Los Angeles Lakers (NBA) | Value: $4.4 billion
3. New York Knicks (NBA) | Value: $4.6 billion
2. New York Yankees (MLB) | Value: $5 billion
1. Dallas Cowboys (NFL) | Value: $5.5 billion
LA Lakers, New York Knicks, New York Yankees… it’s no surprise to see these famous American sporting institutions in the top five.
But Dallas Cowboys at the very top of the list, worth half-a-billion dollars more than any other team in the world, is rather eye-opening.