Associated Press

London, March 3:

Manchester United is the world’s richest sports franchise, beating even the New York Yankees in terms of income.

Figures released on Wednesday by sports business group Deloitte & Touche showed Manchester United had revenues of $289 million for the 2002-3 season, compared with the Yankees’ $280 million.

The English Premier League champion is by far the world’s richest soccer club. Italian champion Juventus was second with revenues of $251 million, while Champions League winner AC Milan was third with $230.2 million.

Spanish champion Real Madrid climbed two places to fourth after generating $221.5 million. Bundesliga winner Bayern Munich, which was knocked out of the Champions League in the first group stage, slipped two places to fifth after losing out on TV revenue.

The biggest mover was Inter Milan, which climbed from 12th to sixth after reaching the Champions League semis. Arsenal, runner-up to United last season but on target for the League title this year, moved up from eighth to seventh.

Liverpool, a disappointing fifth in the Premier League, slipped from fifth to eighth on the rich list. Third-place finisher Newcastle moved up from 13th to ninth.

Chelsea dropped from seventh to 10th on the list but that was before Russian oil billionaire

Roman Abramovich arrived at Stamford Bridge last summer. He became the leading shareholder and wiped out the club’s debts of some $134.4 million.