SEE THE LIST OF MOST VALUABLE TEAMS AND MOST VALUABLE BRAND ATHLETES

Manchester United, the most valuable football team brand in the world by Forbes
Manchester United was rated as the fourth most valuable team brand by Forbes. This ranking sees the Red Devils stand just behind the Dallas Cowboys, Ney York Yankees and LA Lakers across all sports, but top the charts when it comes to football with Barcelona and Real Madrid coming second and third respectively.

The premier league club has a brand value of £425million., a significant increase of 12.8%

Real Madrid legend, Cristiano Ronaldo have seen his brand rise by a whooping 13.2%, but Messi's brand has gone tumbling down by 10%.

Ronaldo whose brand tops the rest in football is only fourth in terms of athletes brand value across the world. Roger Federer tops the charts after an impressive show this year, while LeBron James follows closely as second and the speedster Usian Bolt trailing as third.

MOST VALUABLE BRANDS:

TEAMS – Current brand value

1) Dallas Cowboys: The Cowboys are the NFL's most valuable team for the 11th straight year and the world's most valuable franchise across all sports. The team value is – £676million

2) New York Yankees: The Bronx Bombers made changes to Yankee Stadium in the offseason to help attract younger fans and stem declining attendance. Total attendance is off 10% over the past two years and 18% since the $1.1 billion venue opened in 2009. The Yankees removed 2,100 seats to build two new patio bars in the outfield, along with a 2,850-square-foot children's zone. Despite the drop in fans, the Yankees still had the second highest attendance in the American League last year at 37,819 per game. The team value is – £519m

3) Los Angeles Lakers: Last season marked the end of an era with the retirement of Kobe Bryant, who spent 20 years in purple and gold and finished third all-time in NBA scoring. It was the worst season in franchise history on the court with a 17-65 record (the previous year was second worst), but the team still cashed in with fans eager to get one last glimpse of No. 24. The Lakers sold out the Staples Center and Bryant's final game featured $1.2 million worth of Kobe merchandise sold at the Staples Center. The team value is  – £449m

4) Manchester United:  No soccer team has done as good a job as Manchester United at turning a storied history of success on the pitch into profits. The team value is – £425m

5) Barcelona: Last year, Barcelona signed an extension of their kit deal with Nike worth at least $168 million annually from 2018 through 2023, smashing Manchester United's previous record $111 million per year deal with Adidas. The team value is – £405m

6) New England Patriots: The Patriots stunning 34-28 comeback, overtime victory in Super Bowl 51 over the Falcons cemented the legends of head coach Bill Belichick and QB Tom Brady. The two future Hall of Famers are undeniably the best of their generation. For owner Robert Kraft, capturing a fifth overall, and second Lombardi Trophy in three years, erased the memory of two straight title game defeats to the Giants. Moreover, the latest championship further boosted the value of the team. The team value is – £391m

7) Real Madrid: In May, it was reported that Real Madrid's 10-year kit deal with Adidas that runs through 2024 pays the team $75 million a year, plus 22.5% (about $32 million) of all sales on club-branded Adidas merchandise. The team value is – £385m

8) New York Knicks: The Knicks are the NBA’s most valuable team for a second straight year. The team is owned by Madison Square Garden Company, one of the few publicly-traded plays in live sports. MSG owns and operates the Knicks, New York Rangers (NHL) and the New York Liberty (WNBA), along with two development league teams--Westchester Knicks (NBADL) and Hartford Wolf Pack (AHL). MSG Sports also presents a broad array of world-class sporting events, including: professional boxing, college basketball, tennis, bull riding and e-gaming events. The team value is – £381m

9) Boston Red Sox: The Red Sox were swept by the Indians in the ALDS last season and enter 2017 minus David Ortiz, who retired after 14 years in Boston. The good news for Sox Nation is the team nabbed Chris Sale in the off-season, among the best pitchers in baseball. Also, Pablo Sandoval, who missed the 2016 season due to surgery to repair a damaged labrum in his left shoulder, is back, along with his $18 million-a-year contract. The team value is – £346m

10) Chicago Cubs: The Cubs shed themselves of the "Curse of the Billy Goat" and ended a 108-year wait for a World Series title by beating the Indians 8-7 in 10 innings in game seven of the Fall Classic. It was the team's third championship. The Cubs also led MLB in wins during the 2016 regular season with 103. The team's faithful were glued to their TV sets, pushing up the average rating on CSN Chicago 41% over 2015, to 4.53, the second-biggest increase in baseball. The team value is – £345m

ATHLETES – Current brand value

1) Roger Federer: Federer has won $108 million in prize money in his career, but the total is dwarfed by his off-court earnings from appearances and endorsements. His latest pact is with pasta brand Barilla. The deal runs more than five years and is expected to net Fed roughly $40 million.

2) LeBron James: The NBA's four-time MVP returned to Cleveland in July 2014 and led the Cavaliers to the 2016 NBA title, the first in franchise history and the first major sports crown for the city in 52 years. He re-signed after the win for three more years in a deal worth $100 million. His $31 million salary in 2016-17 made him only the third NBA player to earn $30 million in a season after Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant. It is the first time he's had the NBA's top salary during his 14-year career. The NBA's top pitchman added Intel and Verizon to his endorsement portfolio, which already included Nike, Coca-Cola, Beats by Dre and Kia Motor. His lifetime deal with Nike could net him more than $1 billion.

3) Usain Bolt: The Jamaican sprinter wrapped his Olympic career in 2016 with a third straight sweep of gold medals in the 100 meter, 200 meter and 4x100 meter relay. The medal haul established Bolt as the greatest sprinter of all-time. He plans to retire after the 2017 World Championships. Bolt is a marketing juggernaut with more than a dozen sponsors. He added Mumm, XM, Kinder, Advil and Sprint to his endorsement portfolio over the last 12 months. His biggest deal is with Puma, which pays Bolt more than $10 million annually. Bolt is an investor and performer in the new annual Nitro Athletics track and field series that launched in 2017.

4) Cristiano Ronaldo: This past year Ronaldo was named FIFA's best player in the world for the fourth time, secured a contract extension with Real Madrid that will pay him more than $50 million for each of the next four years through his 36th birthday and inked a lifetime deal with Nike worth upward of $1 billion. His native Portugal honored him by renaming an international airport after he led that country to a UEFA Euro title last summer. This season he led Real Madrid to La Liga title and back-to-back Champions League crowns. His growing line of CR7 branded products now include shoes, underwear, fragrance, jeans and a line of hotels. Ronaldo remains the most popular athlete in the world with 275 million social media followers. 

5) Phil Mickelson:  Mickelson and longtime sponsor, Barclays, parted ways after 15 years together. The golfer quickly filled the opening in his endorsement portfolio with merchant bank Intrepid Financial Partners. He also added a deal with Workday, which includes the logo of the human resources firm on Mickelson's golf shirts during tournaments. Mickelson also pitches for Amgen, ExxonMobil, KPMG, Rolex, Grayhawk and the Greenbrier. His deal with Amgen covers the psoriatic arthritis drug Enbrel (Mickelson was diagnosed with the disease in 2010). The SEC named Phil Mickelson last year as a "relief defendant," but did not charge him with a crime in an insider trading case. The golfer agreed to pay back $1 million in profits and interest from the 2012 trade of Dean Foods stock based on an insider's tip. The five-time majors winner has racked up 42 PGA victories (ninth all-time), but his last win came three years ago at the 2013 British Open. Mickelson's $83 million in career prize money ranks second all-time.

6) Tiger Woods: Woods became a professional golfer in 1996 and has become one of the sport’s most famous players. In addition to his golf winnings, he has landed several high-paying endorsement deals. Forbes reports that sponsorships are now responsible for the vast majority of Woods’ annual income and earned him $45 million during the 12 months that ended in June 2016.

7) Virat Kohli: Kohli took over as India cricket captain for all formats earlier this year and has become the face of the sport in the country. And his riches are certainly showing that.
Kohli is one of the most famous cricket players in the world right now and has a pay packet to match.
Viral Kohli is worth approximately £16.3million, according to Forbes.
He pockets a salary of £2.22million and gets endorsements of £14.07m.

 8) Rory McIlroy: McIlroy won two events during the PGA Tour playoffs, including the Tour Championship, to capture the FedEx Cup and the $10 million bonus that comes with the trophy. The eight-figure check pushed his on-course earnings to $16 million between June 2016 and June 2017. McIlroy continues to be a bankable marketing star. Nike signed McIlroy to a 10-year extension for apparel (Nike left the golf equipment business in 2016). The Northern Irish golfer also inked a long-term deal with TaylorMade in 2017. Other endorsement partners include Omega and Upper Deck. McIlroy replaced Tiger Woods as the face of Electronic Arts' golf video game in 2015.

9) Lionel Messi: Messi scored a La Liga-high 53 goals and assisted on 16 more in 52 club appearances this past season and is due for an extension with Barcelona. The Argentine forward notably rejected a first offer but the one-club man has insisted he wants to remain at Camp Nou. In December he renewed a lifelong deal with Adidas. The German sportswear giant is responsible for half of Messi's $27 million in endorsement income. It became a bigger piece of the pie when EA Sports let a five-year contract with the global soccer icon lapse, despite featuring him on the cover four times of its worldwide FIFA game.

10) Stephen Curry: Stephen Curry has been one of the NBA's biggest bargains since signing a four-year contract extension in 2012. His $12.1 million salary for the 2016-17 season was 85th highest in the NBA. The two-time MVP, including the first unanimous MVP vote in league history, will get paid under his next deal. The NBA's new collective bargaining agreement allows the Warriors to pay Curry more than $200 million over five years. Marketers have flocked to the Golden State point guard, while his team captured the attention of the casual NBA fan with their record 207 regular season wins over the past three seasons. Curry had the NBA's best-selling jersey each of the past two seasons. His off-court income has nearly tripled over the past 12 months. Curry signed endorsements with JPMorgan Chase, Brita, Vivo and PressPlay since the end of 2015, and his take from Under Armour leapt thanks to a contract extension and the growth of the business.