The sixth-best soccer team in England is the world’s richest

(May 31): Manchester United’s least-winning season in the Premier League hasn’t prevented the 20-time English champion from taking a clear lead atop a list of soccer’s most-valuable clubs.

United, which finished sixth in the league and hasn’t won it since storied coach Alex Ferguson stepped down in 2013, increased its value to 3.1 billion euros ($4.9 billion), according to accounting firm KPMG. That moved the club owned by the U.S.-based Glazer family ahead of Spanish giant Real Madrid, with whom it shared top spot last year.

United’s ascendancy is all the more remarkable given that the team was absent from Europe’s elite Champions League for the entire year. Its domestic standing would have ruled the club out for another 12 months, though victory in the second-tier Europa League qualified it to play at the highest level of European soccer next season, preventing the loss of millions in sponsorship income, including from its apparel provider Adidas AG.

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