'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Chelsea is close to completing a successful pre-season tour of the United States. Even though the defeat against Real Madrid is a sore point of the tour, it does not make any sense to think only about the negatives. There has been so much positive about the money spinning tour. Kevin De Bruyne and Marco van Ginkel have been stand-out players from this tour.
This is not the first time Chelsea is coming to the United States. In fact, the team was here only a few months ago to play in a friendly match against Manchester City. This is because the United States has an incredible marketing potential.
Even with a fragile economy, it is not surprising to learn that some of the richest sports franchises are from the United States. Forbes magazine recently listed a list of the top 50 sports franchises in the world. The study, which came out a few weeks ago, has put Real Madrid top of the pile with a valuation of $3.3 billion.
Top five sports franchises in the world and their valuations (according to Forbes):
Real Madrid – $3.3 billionManchester United – $3.2 billionBarcelona – $2.6 billionNew York Yankees – $2.3 billionDallas Cowboys – $2.1 billion
Football clubs dominate the top five, but it is a different story when you consider the top 50.
Dallas Cowboys may be NFL’s (American football) only representation in the top five, but this sport dominates the top 50 with 30 teams. It is not surprising to find that there are several venues for online football betting.
Where does Chelsea rank in the list? Below is the position of football clubs on this list.
10. Arsenal – $1.326 billion12. Bayern Munich – $1.309 billion37. AC Milan – $945 million40. Chelsea – $901 million
Chelsea’s rank is extremely good considering that all the other football clubs in this list have stadium capacities of more than 60,000. Of course, the revenue from the 2012 Champions League victory played a significant role in this ranking. Chelsea turned around $75 million from the Champions league win in 2012. Chelsea will undoubtedly be in the top 10 if it was for a new stadium. However, there are some things that money can’t buy and Stamford Bridge is probably one of them.
