Forbes magazine has rated Arsenal as the 7th most valuable sports franchise in the world assessing the club’s worth, following Stan Kroenke’s takeover, at $1.19 billion. Last year the Gunners placed 8th in the rankings valued at $1.18 billion.
Manchester United top the 2011 list valued at $1.86 billion, while Spanish giants Real Madrid, 5th, make up the third football club in the top ten.
German side Bayern Munich (19th), Champions League winners Barcelona (26th), Serie A champions AC Milan (34th), Roman Abramovich’s Chelsea (46th) and Italian giants Juventus (49th) are the only other football sides to make the top fifty.
The rest of the top fifty is made up predominantly of NFL sides although baseball’s New York Yankees place 3rd, while Formula 1 giants Ferrari (13th) and McLaren (37th) also break up the dominance of American Football sides.
Top Fifty Franchises
Manchester United / Football / $1.86 billion
Dallas Cowboys / NFL / $1.81 billion
New York Yankees / MLB / $1.7 billion
Washington Redskins / NFL / $1.55 billion
Real Madrid / Football / $1.45 billion
New England Patriots / NFL / $1.37 billion
Arsenal / Football / $1.19 billion
New York Giants / NFL / $1.18 billion
Houston Texans / NFL / $1.17 billion
New York Jets / NFL / $1.14 billion