For Richer, for Poorer – the Oldest, Richest and Best Teams in the World

Forbes magazine has done a survey of the oldest, richest and most successful teams across different professional sports. Mike Schultz takes a look at what it takes to hit the big time.

There’s a beautiful infographic by Column Five that shows precisely how all these legendary names stand in relation to each other. Circles of different sizes denote wealth, and they’re then plotted on a graph of Championships against time.

The winner of the trifecta – the oldest, richest and winningest team of all – is Real Madrid, the soccer club that plays in brilliant white and is seen as a symbol of all that is great about Spain. The word “Real” means Royal, signifying that when Madrid were winning their 32 Championships over 111 years, they were doing the work of the King himself.

The other huge player is Manchester United, a team that has become so big it has transcended its sport. The brand is so iconic that, in the TV show Buffy the Vampire Slayer, when the vampire Spike lists the things that would be a pity to lose if the world were destroyed, he mentions Manchester United. The fact Spike himself is a Londoner only adds to the Lancashire club’s allure.

The most successful North American sports franchise is the New York Yankees. Jay-Z sings in Empire State of Mind that he “made the Yankee hat more famous than a Yankee can.” That’s not easy to believe. Baseball without the Yankees is like beer without the froth – hard to imagine and just a little bit flat.

The richest football team on the list is the Dallas Cowboys, even though Dallas hasn’t been winning all that much in recent years. One of the lessons of this Forbes survey is that you don’t necessarily have to be a winner to be rich in sports.

The only hockey team on the list, for instance, is the Toronto Maple Leafs, and it’s been a long, long time since the Leafs won anything. And the saddest little bubble on the list is also the oldest professional sports team on the list at 143 years, the Chicago Cubs. The Cubs are valued at one billion dollars and Wrigleyville, the area of Chicago at the intersection of Addison and Clark where the famous old stadium is, is one of the most buzzing places to be during the summer. But the Curse of the Billy Goat still reigns over the team, and it’s now 105 years since the Cubs last won the World Series. And counting.