Turkey's Galatasaray named as 16th most valuable club
US magazine Forbes puts Istanbul's 'Lions' on its list of the world's top 20 clubs by market value
ANKARA
Turkish football club Galatasaray has become the 16th most valuable club in the world with a market value of US$347 million, according to US magazine Forbes.
Spain's Real Madrid remains "the most valuable football club in the world" with a market value of US$3.4 billion and an annual income of US$675 million, according to Forbes' ranking of 20 clubs in the 2012-13 football season.
Spanish team Barcelona came second with an income of US$627 million, boosting its value to US$3.2 billion.
English Premier League giants Manchester United, whose annual income is US$551 million, was third despite suffering a loss of 11 percent compared to the previous season.
The "Red Devils" current market value was put at US$2.8 billion.
Galatasaray - the winners of the 2012-13 Turkish Spor Toto Super League, the UEFA Cup in 2000 and last season's UEFA Champions League quarter finalists - was the only Turkish team to get a footing on the list comprising of six English, five Italian, four German, three Spanish teams and a French one.
Galatasaray, the Istanbulite team also known as "The Lions", gained its slot after earning US$204 million in revenue last season.
Having been honored in the 2012-13 UEFA Champions League, 2013 FIFA Club World Cup, 2012-13 Bundesliga title and DFB-Pokal (German Cup) trophies, Germany's Bayern Munich became "the most growing club" by enhancing its market value by 41 percent compared to the previous season.
With the drastic boost, the Bavarian giants - nicknamed "Die Bayern" - achieved a market value of US$8 billion.
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