Value & Power

For the sixth year in a row, Manchester United has been sited as the most valuable club in the world by Forbes Magazine, and it goes to show why there is so much unrest off the field.

United is currently valued at $1.8 billion by the magazine, which makes them the world's most valuable sports franchise ahead of the two most popular in America - Dallas Cowboys ($1.65 billion) and the New York Yankees ($1.6 billion).

Predictably, United's value has dropped from the previous year by two percent, but they are still head and shoulders above the next top football team - Real Madrid - by $0.5 billion.

Even though it is thought to be, the sports world is not , which shows a lot about the marketing strategy of the club.
The one thing that all of the sports franchise have is pressure and expectations to perform and win every year, and United supporters have one man to thank for this.

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The reason why United are so powerful off the field is because of the consistency that Sir Alex Ferguson demands on it, and because of that, the Old Trafford club have won the last three Barclays Premier League titles, made the last two UEFA Champions League finals and have won back-to-back Carling Cup trophies.

The most expensive NFL franchise is the Cowboys, primarily because of being touted as "America's team," and the investments made by Jerry Jones and their owner invested $1.3 billion into the world's most expensive sports venue last year.

However, despite being very powerful off the field, the Cowboys have not won the Super Bowl since 1995, and went over 10 years in between playoff wins.

Distraction
The protests this season have been some what of a distraction to the success that United could be having on the field, and its plain and simple as to why.

The supporters know the valuable assests they have and they want to protect them, and that is why they do not want the Glazer ownership group to own Manchester United Ltd.

The Red Knights have been said to be tabling bids to relieve United of their debt, but the ownership will reaped the reward of United's global image, which should be a huge concern for the supporters as well.

If the success continues at Manchester United, they will keep their strangle hold as the most valuable club in world sports, and with a manager like Sir Alex Ferguson, the Reds will have a great chance of doing that.