The 20 most valuable clubs in the world - with Man Utd and Liverpool in top five

Eight of the 20 most valuable clubs in Europe play in the Premier League, according to Football Benchmark's annual enterprise report.

However, La Liga giants Real Madrid comfortably remain the biggest of all with La Liga rivals Barcelona third despite the club undergoing a major reshuffle and with an estimated £1.5billionn debt.

They are separated by Manchester United who, despite a dismal campaign, have seen their value rise by 8 per cent compared to the year previous to an estimated £2.425billion. Liverpool, fifth overall and Real's opponents in Saturday's Champions League final, are the next highest Premier League team on £2.15billion followed by Manchester City £2.08billion and Chelsea on £1.8billion.

The West London club are in the process of being sold for a significantly higher figure of £2.5billion, with an additional commitment of £1.75billion invested in its infrastructure over the next 10 years by a group spearheaded by Todd Boehly.

Among some financial experts, the transaction figure has been viewed with arched eyebrows but, as Football Benchmark point out, the Premier League may now be considered one step removed from a Super League thanks to its superior broadcasting income and an emergence from the Covid-19 pandemic that was stronger than its competitors.

"While Premier League clubs enjoy advantages in terms of matchday revenues to some extent and even larger benefits from their greater commercial appeal stemming from many factors, including the brand's global power, what really sets them apart are highly remunerative broadcasting agreements," the report says.

"Unlike other Big 5 leagues that all agreed to discounted deals during their domestic TV rights negotiations, the Premier League successfully locked in their current domestic package without any value loss and increased their compensation from international broadcasting, surpassing income generated from national broadcasters for the first time.

"The health crisis also revealed the greater strength and resilience of the Premier League on the transfer market, as the volume of English first division clubs' transactions did not significantly change compared to pre-COVID times."

Tottenham Hotspur, who have sealed their return to the Champions League, are ninth with an estimated value of £1.6billion and neighbours Arsenal are 11th on £1.33billion. West Ham's evaluation of £455million means a quarter of the top 16 clubs are based in the capital. Leicester, meanwhile, showed one of the biggest year-on-year growths - a climb of 24 per cent to £442million.

Among other notable takeaways is the growth of Paris Saint-Germain, up 22 per cent to £1.79billion, following a season in which they welcomed Lionel Messi to the French capital and, in recent days, tied down Kylian Mbappe to a new contract until 2025.

There is a significant gap between Inter Milan in 14th on £838million and city rivals AC Milan one spot lower on £486million. This difference may be smaller in next year's report as the Rossoneri have just been crowned Italian champions.

The 20 most valuable clubs in Europe

1 Real Madrid (year-on year: +9%) £2,679m

2 Manchester United (+8%) £2,425m

3 Barcelona (-2%) £2,367m

4 Bayern Munich (+5%) £2,313m

5 Liverpool (+12%) £2,150m

6 Manchester City (+14%) £2,089m

7 Chelsea (+16%) £1,833m

8 Paris Saint-Germain (+22%) £1,794m

9 Tottenham Hotspur (+12%) £1,609m

10 Juventus (+8%) £1,343m

11 Arsenal (+10%) £1,333m

12 Atlético de Madrid (+9%) £1,038m

13 Borussia Dortmund (+1%) £1,032m

14 Internazionale (+14%) £838m

15 AC Milan (+35%) £486m

16 West Ham United (new) £455m

17 Leicester City (+24%) £442m

18 Napoli (-0.4%) £407m

19 Ajax (+13%) £398m

20 Olympique Lyonnais (-7%) £384m