Forbes magazine has published their report on the world’s most valuable football clubs . Their report reveals some startling data that may shed some light on the weight the football business enjoys in Europe. Not surprisingly, the top ten teams are split among four countries: Germany, England, Spain and Italy. Five of these are now worth at least 1 billion dollars.

While small and medium-sized businesses are closing their doors and going out of business, the top 25 football teams are worth on average, $597 million each, which represents a jump of 8% just this past season. So how are these clubs making their money?

One of the main reasons cited by the experts is the multi-year broadcasting and sponsorship arrangements these clubs have with broadcasters and the mass media. Good examples of what we are talking about are uniform sponsorships. More than half of the 20 clubs with the highest revenue enjoy multi-year sponsorships which are good until the year 2013. German, Spanish and English teams all have signed broadcasting deals until the year 2014.

So who are the teams at the head of the pack of the world’s richest football clubs? Once again, the top five include some very well-known clubs: Manchester United, Real Madrid, Arsenal, Bayern Munich, and Liverpool. Where is Barcelona? They are only ranked 7 on the list, but make no mistake about it: they are number 2 on the list with the highest operating income, at $108 million, only second to Arsenal with $160 million.

Spanish teams are by no means feeling the pinch. Real Madrid ranks number 2 on the list of the world’s richest football clubs, and even number one on the revenue list, taking in a cool $576 million a year, compared to Arsenal’s measly $349 million. Barcelona also beats out the number one English team with $487 million a year. Not too shabby at all!

Unfortunately, these are the only two football clubs representing Spain on the list. England takes the cake with 9 teams, Germany 6, Italy 4, finishing up with France and Scotland with two each. So if you are looking to get out of the crisis, you only need to look so far as to your friendly neighborhood football stadium.

(Based on the report : “Soccer Team Valuations,” Forbes Magazine, Online Version April 8, 2009)