Spain may have been embarrassingly dethroned as World Cup holder, but Real Madrid and Barcelona are still champions at making money after they were named the world's two richest sports franchises.

For the second successive year, Forbes business magazine tagged European champion Real Madrid, where Cristiano Ronaldo plays, as the No 1 sports team with a value of $3.44 billion.

Barcelona, the home of Lionel Messi, Neymar and now the notorious Luis Suarez, is second on the chart with a current value of $3.2 billion, while English giant Manchester United is ranked third at $2.81 billion despite a miserable domestic season.