Real Madrid top club rich list as pound slows Man United

By Antonella Ciancio

LONDON (Reuters) - Real Madrid remained the world's richest soccer club and English clubs were hit by the declining value of the pound, according to an annual survey by accountancy firm Deloitte released on Thursday.

Manchester United and Barcelona held their respective second and third positions in the latest "Football Money League" report on the world's 20 biggest soccer clubs ranked by revenue.

"If the exchange rate value of the pound had not depreciated, there would have been nine, rather than seven English clubs in the top 20 and Manchester United would have topped the Money League ahead of Real Madrid," said Dan Jones, partner in the Sports business group at Deloitte.

The impact of the current economic downturn on club revenues was not measured in the report from the 2007-08 season.

LOYAL FANS

But top clubs should weather the crisis, thanks to loyal fan bases and long-term broadcast and sponsors contracts, Deloitte said.

"The unique nature of the football industry will enable major clubs to be relatively resistant to the economic downturn," said Paul Rawnsley, director in the sports business Group

Primera Liga champions Real Madrid saw their revenues rise by four percent to 366 million euros (329 million pounds).