hmm, judging by the media back home (in England) you'd think Manchester United was the #1 business in the world, let alone football club lol
Considering that the owners had the finances to hire Beckham and Zidane over a decade ago and Cristiano Ronaldo a few years ago for very high transfer fees, I'm not that surprised.
I guess it depends on the assets of a club like the squad, the stadium, training compounds, etc on the one hand and estimated income from marketing deals, TV broadcasting and in general the value of the brand for commercial purposes.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/mikeoza...nchester-united-from-top-spot-at-3-3-billion/ That's Forbes detailed report about how they calculate Real Madrid's valuation.
Real Madrid soccer's highest earner for record ninth year http://www.sportingnews.com/soccer/...r-for-record-ninth-year?modid=recommended_4_5
8.3% of Bayern just sold for $150mill http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-02-12/allianz-buys-8-3-stake-in-fc-bayern-for-150-million.html