• Forbes , Thursday, May 24, 2012 9:25 AM

Manchester United is most valuable franchise in soccer, and in all of professional sports, at $1.86 billion. Real Madrid with a value of $1.4 billion is second, followed by Arsenal, at $1.19 billion. Overall, the average value of the 20 clubs on Forbes' list increased to $640 million, up 1.3% over last year. Average operating income rose 25% to $40 million. David Beckham is the most valuable player, earning $40 million. Though he's almost finished in the game, he added Pepsi and Electronic Arts to his endorsement stable in the last year. Christiano Ronaldo of Real Madrid is next with $38 million in earnings, and Lionel Messi is third with $32 million.

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