Real Madrid named as world's most valuable football club in study

Real Madrid have been named as the most

valuable football club in the world by marketing

experts, who placed Manchester United second

and Manchester City fourth.

Premier League clubs occupied five of the top 10

positions and eight of the top 20 in the London

School of Marketing rankings -- a sign of the

financial power of the English top flight.

Reigning European champions Barcelona were

ranked third, with Bayern Munich the fifth and

last club deemed to be valued at more than £1

billion.



Real, who have won a record 10 European Cups,

were valued at £2.070bn, followed by United, at

£2.050bn and Barcelona at £2.007bn.

City were deemed to be worth £2bn, the

valuation quoted when a Chinese company paid

£265 million for a 13 percent stake in their parent

company, City Football Group, earlier this month.



It means their value has risen 94 percent since

Sheikh Mansour's 2008 takeover, although the

Abu Dhabi owner has also invested more than

£1bn in the club.

Chelsea were placed sixth, Arsenal, seventh and

Liverpool eighth, with Tottenham (13th),

Newcastle (18th) and West Ham (19th) all in the

top 20.



There are four Italian clubs, three Spanish, three

German, one French and one Turkish in the top

20.

Top 20 (value in million pounds):



1. Real Madrid - £2,070m



2. Manchester United - £2,050m



3. Barcelona - £2,007m



4. Manchester City - £2,000m



5. Bayern Munich - £1,492m



6. Chelsea - £870m



7. Arsenal - £832m



8. Liverpool - £624m



9. Juventus - £531m



10. AC Milan - £492m



11. Borussia Dortmund - £445m



12. Paris St Germain - £403m



13. Tottenham Hotspur - £381m



14. FC Schalke - £363m



15. Inter Milan - £279m



16. Atletico de Madrid - £277m



17. Napoli - £224m



18. Newcastle United - £222m



19. West Ham United - £196m



20. Galatasaray - £187m