New Forbes rich list

Champions League holders Real Madrid are the world's most valuable football club for a third straight year, according to a Forbes list released on Wednesday. Bayern Munich are fourth.

Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich collected commercial revenue of €349 million over the last year, which is second only to Paris Saint-Germain's €392 million, according to Forbes.

However, Bayern's broadcasting revenue was just €128 million, 11th among Forbes' group of 20. The value of the Budesliga's television deals are a distant third behind the Premier League and Serie A.

Real Madrid's value dropped five percent to €2.88 billion but their €658 million in revenue was enough to keep them top of the list.

Barcelona (€2.78 billion), Manchester United (€2.74 billion) and Manchester City (€1.19 billion) rounded out the top five.

Increasing television and shirt sponsorship revenue helped boost the average value of the top 20 clubs to €1.02 billion, an astonishing 84 percent jump from five years ago.

Eight of the top 20 teams are from the English Premier League, which Forbes credited to the league's lucrative new domestic TV deal starting from the 2016-17 season, in its statement. But there is a large drop-off in value between Bayern in fourth and Manchester City in fifth.

The 10 most valuable football teams (in billions):

1. Real Madrid (€2.88)

2. Barcelona (€2.78)

3. Manchester United (€2.74)

4. Bayern Munich (€2.07)

5. Manchester City (€1.22)

6. Chelsea (€1.21)

7. Arsenal (€1.15)

8. Liverpool (€866m)

9. Juventus (€738m)

10. AC Milan (€683m)

apc/jc (Reuters, AP)