Madrid: Spanish football side Real Madrid has become the most valuable sporting club in the world for the fourth consecutive year, according to Forbes magazine.
The magazine published its rankings of the most valuable sporting institutions on Wednesday with the Spanish football club topping the rankings again, reports Xinhua.
Forbes estimated Real Madrid to be worth $3.26 billion (Dh11.97 billion).
Second place in the list was occupied by American football club Dallas Cowboys and baseball team New York Yankees. They were both worth an estimated $3.20 billion.
Real Madrid’s bitter rivals, FC Barcelona have fallen from second to fourth in the list with a value of $3.16 billion.
English football club Manchester United dropped from third to fifth on the list with a value of $3.1 billion.
The other places in the top 10 are taken by American sports teams: two National Basketball Association teams Los Angeles Lakers (sixth) and New York Knicks (eighth), National Football League (NFL) sides New England Patriots (sixth) and Washington Redskins (ninth) and Major League Baseball’s (MLB) Los Angeles Dodgers (ninth).
Meanwhile, German international Sami Khedira has said signing for Italian side Juventus was “an easy decision” because they are “on the same level” as Spanish giants Real Madrid.
During the presentation press conference with his new club, Khedira said the Turin-based team has “a great tradition and a wonderful setup” decorated with a history of extraordinary players, reports Efe.
“It’s a real joy to be here. I promise I’ll give absolutely everything I’ve got to help this team keep making history,” Khedira announced here on Wednesday.
Regarding his time at Real Madrid, he said he enjoyed “five beautiful years” with the team, but decided he “wanted a fresh challenge”.
“I’ve joined from Real Madrid and Juventus are one of the few sides on the same level,” he said.
When asked about Alvaro Morata, the Italian striker formerly with Real Madrid, Khedira said that Juventus is a special team because of players like him.
