The European heavyweights of football have been surpassed in value by a little-known club from China, according to new figures from the Asian superpower.
Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao FC's worth has been placed at 21.9 billion yuan this week.
That means the club is priced at $3.37 billion and has edged out Real Madrid for the title of the world's most valuable. Forbes placed the Spanish team's valuation at $3.26 billion last year.
It gives Guangzhou Evergrande a far higher market value than Manchester United. Often called the world's most popular club, the stock-listed English team was valued at $2.35 billion by the US stock exchange this week.
The news comes courtesy of Xinhua, the official press agency of the People's Republic of China.
It is basing its claims on a recent National Equities Exchange and Quotations (NNEQ) transaction in club shares which saw the cost of each share skyrocketing from 40 yuan to 55 yuan - an increase of almost 40% in just two months.
Guangzhou Evergrande have won the Chinese Super League for the past five years in a row and are currently managed by World Cup-winning Brazilian coach Luiz Fellipe Scolari, the Brazilian World Cup-winning coach.
Their fire power on the pitch also has a distinctly Brazilian feel, with Alan, Ricardo Goulart and Paulinho all currently lining up for the team.
Earlier this year, Colombian international Jackson Martinez was involved in a surprise £32 million switch from Atletico to Guangzhou Evergrande.
Formed in 1954, they only became professional in 1993. They play in the 58,500-capacity Tianhe Stadium in the south-east city of Gungzhou,boasting the motto: "Be the best forever".
So are they really the best around right now (in financial terms)?
Chinese football expert Chris Atkins has argued that Chinese valuations have little substance and called the claims "ridiculous given they don't even own their own stadium".
Football-mad Chinese President Xi Jinping has been eager to turn his country into one of the elite nations in the sport as investment floods its clubs.
In February, a record amount was spent by teams on player transfers, as they spent $100 million than their Premier League counterparts and more than Italy, Germany, France and Spain combined.
At the grassroots level, Xi's central reform group made football compulsory for elementary and secondary schools in 2015.
