Quote:Manchester United have been valued as the biggest football club in the world by Forbes Magazine.

While the Red Devils held onto their title as the world’s most valued club, six other English sides were also named in the magazine’s top 20 most valuable club’s in world football.

United have topped the table for the last six years and were valued by Forbes at £1.19 billion after a 2% fall from last year.

Peter Schwartz, Business sports writer for Forbes hailed Manchester United’s resilience to remain as ‘one of the world’s biggest sporting brands’.

He said: "The club has really established itself as one of the top brands in world sport.

"New kit deals and great marketing has seen them maintain their status despite all the problems of the global recession."

Despite Newcastle United's relegation last season, the club earned 20th place, with Arsenal coming in third, ahead of Liverpool in sixth and Chelsea in ninth.

Champions League hopefuls Tottenham Hotspur were ranked 12th, while big-spending Manchester City were in 19th place.

A Forbes spokesman said: "The world's 20 most valuable clubs generated a combined £422million in operating income last season.

"The top five clubs took in 86% of the total because their worldwide following allows them to grab much more sponsorship and media revenue."