Surpassing Several Spanish Clubs, MU Becomes the Richest Club in 2017

Forbes magazine released its list of the world's richest football clubs after the end of the 2016/2017 season. Manchester United (MU) topped the list as the richest football club, with assets reaching US$3.69 billion, equivalent to Rp 47 trillion. With this value, MU surpassed two Spanish giants, Barcelona and Real Madrid, which have assets of US$3.64 billion and US$3.5 billion respectively.

For the past four years, Real Madrid consistently held the top spot as the richest club. However, this year MU managed to displace Real Madrid, even climbing two ranks. Meanwhile, Real Madrid dropped to third place. This is despite Real Madrid's on-field achievements, winning La Liga and the Champions League. MU, on the other hand, only finished 6th, despite winning the Europa League.

Forbes Managing Editor, Mike Ozanian, stated that Manchester United's success in becoming the richest club is due to its already established strong brand and exceptionally effective marketing.