Real Madrid: The Most Valuable Sports Team of 2015

Real Madrid, a soccer team from Spain worth $3.26 billion has been listed as the world's most valuable sports team for the third year in a row. The president of the club is Florentino Perez and the coach is Rafael Benitez. The arena, Santiago Bernabeu Stadium, is named after one of the greatest Real Madrid players of all time, Santiago Bernabeu, and holds 85,044 people. The club began in 1897 under the name Football Club Sky and was eventually split into two teams in 1900. These two clubs were named New Foot-Ball de Madrid and Madrid Football Club. In 1905 Madrid Football Club defeated Athletic Bilbao in the Spanish Cup final to win its first ever title. The team changed its name to Real Madrid in 1920 and it has been that ever since. Other great players to wear the Real Madrid uniform are Raul Gonzalez, Alfredo Di Stefano, Manuel Sanchis, Iker Casillas, and many more.

Above is the current roster for Real Madrid

To the left is the current roster for Real Madrid. They are led by superstar Christiano Ronaldo, who leads the team in goals with 14 in all leagues and 8 in the Spanish Primera Division. Karim Benzema is second on the team in goals with 8 in all leagues, while James Rodriguez currently has 5.  The assist leaders are Isco with 6, Gareth Bale with 5, and Lucas with 5 as well. Their current team record in the Liga BBVA is 7-3-1 (7 wins, 3 draws, and 1 loss). They are in second place in the league with 24 points, 3 behind the leader Barcelona with 27.

To the right is a list of ten teams who are worth the most in 2015.  It's not surprising to see teams like the Dallas Cowboys and New York Yankees in the top ten. The Lakers made a pretty big jump from 2014, moving from number 15 to number 6 on this year's list. The New York Knicks are also on this list. Them and the Lakers had a combined record of 74-100, and both missed the playoffs. So having a team worth a lot of money doesn't always mean success will come with it. The Lakers have had a very strong history full of championships and great players. It's also worth noting that 3 of the top 5 teams are soccer clubs.