Football is absolutely laced with money.
You only have to look at the extravagant prize money being touted for the infamous European Super Game to get an idea of the millions upon millions of dollars floating around the sport.
Besides, we live in a world where Neymar is moving to Paris Saint-Germain for almost £200 million and the world's best players are pocketing more than £500,000 on a weekly basis. Madness.
Money in the beautiful game
However, no transfer fee or wages could possibly amount to the value of the clubs themselves, which continue to attract millions of fans from across the glove even when their stadiums are shut.
But how does the value of football clubs fare in the wider sporting world? Well, that's a question that the financial experts at Forbes have answered in their latest round of annual valuations.
The iconic publication unveiled the top 50 most valuable sports club in 2021, reporting a surprising 9.9% increase amongst the world's biggest institutions despite the troubling global situation.
Manchester City vs Chelsea Preview (Football Terrace)
And with the average value amongst the top 50 standing at an eye-watering $3.4 billion, it's fair to say that many of the globe's biggest sports teams still have plenty left in their coffers.
Top 50 most valuable sports teams
Now, it goes without saying that American sports teams largely dominate the list, but no less than nine football clubs, including three in the top ten, really throw a cat amongst the pigeons.
And with money in football hardly proving more topical, be sure to see who the nine representatives of the beautiful game are as well as where they feature amongst the giants of US sports.
50. Cleveland Browns (NFL) - $2.35 billion
=47. Dallas Mavericks (NBA) - $2.45 billion
=47. New York Mets (MLB) - $2.45 billion
=47. Jacksonville Jaguars (NFL) - $2.45 billion
46. New Orleans Saints (NFL) - $2.48 billion
=43. Paris Saint-Germain (Soccer) - $2.5 billion
=43. Houston Rockets (NBA) - $2.5 billion
=43. Kansas City Chiefs (NFL) - $2.5 billion
42. Carolina Panthers (NFL) - $2.55 billion
41. Los Angeles Chargers (NFL) - $2.6 billion
40. Brooklyn Nets (NBA) - $2.65 billion
39. Los Angeles Clippers (NBA) - $2.75 billion
38. Arsenal (Soccer) - $2.8 billion
37. Indianapolis Colts (NFL) - $2.85 billion
36. Atlanta Falcons (NFL) - $2.88 billion
35. Miami Dolphins (NFL) - $2.9 billion
34. Minnesota Vikings (NFL) - $2.95 billion
33. Baltimore Ravens (NFL) - $2.98 billion
32. Pittsburgh Steelers (NFL) - $3 billion
31. Green Bay Packers (NFL) - $3.05 billion
30. Seattle Seahawks (NFL) - $3.08 billion
29. Las Vegas Raiders (NFL) - $3.1 billion
28. San Francisco Giants (MLB) - $3.18 billion
=25. Chelsea (Soccer) - $3.2 billion
=25. Boston Celtics (NBA) - $3.2 billion
=25. Denver Broncos (NFL) - $3.2 billion
=23. Chicago Bulls (NBA) - $3.3 billion
=23. Houston Texans (NFL) - $3.3 billion
22. Chicago Cubs (MLB) - $3.36 billion
21. Philadelphia Eagles (NFL) - $3.4 billion
20. Boston Red Sox (MLB) - $3.47 billion
19. Washington Football Team (NFL) - $3.5 billion
18. Chicago Bears (NFL) - $3.53 billion
17. New York Jets (NFL) - $3.55 billion
16. Los Angeles Dodgers (MLB) - $3.57 billion
15. San Francisco 49ers (NFL) - $3.8 billion
=13. Manchester City (Soccer) - $4 billion
=13. Los Angeles Rams (NFL)- $4 billion
12. Liverpool (Soccer) - $4.1 billion
11. Manchester United (Soccer) - $4.2 billion
10. Bayern Munich (Soccer) - $4.21 billion
9. New York Giants (NFL) - $4.3 billion
8. New England Patriots (NFL) - $4.4 billion
7. Los Angeles Lakers (NBA) - $4.6 billion
6. Golden State Warriors (NBA) - $4.7 billion
5. Real Madrid (Soccer) - $4.75 billion
4. Barcelona (Soccer) - $4.76 billion
3. New York Knicks (NBA) - $5 billion
2. New York Yankees (MLB) - $5.25 billion
1. Dallas Cowboys (NFL) - $5.7 billion
Nine football clubs make the cut
There you have it, folks, the Dallas Cowboys take the top prize for yet another year.
And although the two most successful clubs in Spanish football history have done well to thrust themselves amongst the top five, they still fall a monument $0.94 billion short of the Cowboys.
It's a humbling defeat for the beautiful game, but at least its upper echelons happily rubs shoulders with US giants, before NFL team after NFL team starts to dominating the mid-to-lower sections.
And on the back of the European Super League fiasco, I guess that goes to show that the richest of the richest is a more exclusive club in football than it is for many of America's most popular sports.
Whether or not that will change in the coming years remains to be seen, but let's just say that it's no coincidence that seven of the nine football clubs that featured all entered the Super League...