Real Madrid have usurped Manchester United as the most valuable football club in Europe with a value of around €3.22 billion (Dh13.2bn), according to auditing firm KPMG. The report, which studied profitability, popularity, broadcasting rights, stadium value and sporting potential, was based on the 2016/17 and 2017/18 seasons. Of the 10 most valuable clubs, KPMG have found that six are from the English Premier League. Second-placed United are joined in the list by English treble winners Manchester City in fifth and Chelsea in sixth. Uefa Champions League finalists Liverpool and Tottenham are seventh and ninth respectively, with Arsenal in-between. German champions Bayern Munich are third and Spanish league winners Barcelona fourth, while Italian giants Juventus complete the top 10. KPMG's report totals the 32 most valuable clubs in Europe, which for the first time includes a club from Scotland, with Celtic making the list. "The overall enterprise value of the top 32 clubs is driven primarily by an aggregate five per cent increase in total operating revenues," said Andrea Sartori, KPMG's global head of sports and the report's author. "On the other hand staff costs continued to grow too, with the average staff costs-to-revenue ratio of the top clubs increasing by four percentage points, up to 63 per cent." Three other Premier League clubs were featured in the top 32: West Ham United, Leicester City and Everton. "At league level the English Premier league has confirmed its absolute dominance, having nine clubs in the top 32 and accounting for 43 per cent of the total aggregate value," Sartori said. According to KPMG's report, 13 clubs have a value of more than €1bn, while eight clubs are valued in excess of €2bn.
