W. Bush and later by Malcolm Glazer, owner of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Manchester United Football Club, before Falcone grabbed hold of the shell in 2009.

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This made Manchester United the first English football club to list on an American exchange.

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"Manchester United is the most profitable football club in the world, " read a club statement.

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"Manchester United has been transformed as a football club under the management of Sir Alex Ferguson, " according to Dan Jones, partner in the Sports Business Group at Deloitte.

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Calculations by Deloitte Touche Sport, a consultancy, show that Manchester United, the richest club in international football, now has larger revenues than any franchise in America's National Football League (the kind that is played with helmets and hands).

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Real Madrid has overtaken Manchester United as the world's most valuable football club, according to business magazine Forbes.

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Star forwards Dimitar Berbatov and Robbie Keane are also wanted by Manchester United and Liverpool respectively, angering Tottenham club chairman Daniel Levy who has reported United to the Football Association over the Berbatov affair.

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But that achievement, for all its glory, was just the appetiser as, with the penalty shoot-out entering sudden death, Giggs stepped up to score the decisive spot kick and secure Manchester United's third triumph in European football's premier club competition.

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With Manchester United he has won three Premier League titles, two Football League Cups, the FA Cup, the World Club Championship, and the Champions League.

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