Spanish soccer club Real Madrid has been named the most valuable sports team in the world for the second year in a row.

In the annual Forbes list, fellow Spanish soccer team Barcelona FC was second and English Premier League giant Manchester United third.

Forbes says the Real Madrid franchise is worth $US3.44 billion, Barcelona $US3.2 billion and Manchester United $US2.81 billion.

The value of teams is calculated based on equity, debt and stadium deals.

The New York Yankees baseball team and the Dallas Cowboys National Football League (NFL) team round out the top five.

The biggest mover into the top 10 was German soccer team Bayern Munich, which jumped five places to number seven.

Teams from America’s NFL fill 30 of the top 50 spots.

The average value of the top 50 teams is $US1.34 billion, which is an 8 per cent increase on last year.

There are 38 teams worth $US1 billion or more.

Of the 20 non-NFL teams in the list, six are from America’s Major League Baseball, eight soccer from soccer, four from the NBA, one from the NHL and one from Formula One racing.