The Red Devils’ overall value increased five percent compared to 2017 to more than 3.2 billion euros (£2.8 billion pounds, $3.77 billion), beating ​​Real Madrid on 2.9 billion euros and FC Barcelona on 2.8 billion euros.

“We calculate the assets of each club, if they own a stadium for example, the value of the players, but also the value of the brand or image with advertising contracts and their reach on social networks,” said Jacques Boussuge, head of sports advisory at KPMG.

Of the 32 European clubs assessed, Bayern Munich came fourth with 2.55 billion euros, Juventus were ninth on 1.3 billion euros, with Paris Saint-Germain in 11th place, with an estimated value of 1.14 billion euros.

“PSG is progressing… but it takes time and is limited by financial fair play regulations,” Boussuge said.

In total, the financial value of the 32 clubs reached an estimated 32.5 billion euros, a 9 percent increase on 2017.

“French Open is punishing Serena Williams for having a baby” read a USA Today headline, arguing an expection for the 23-time major winner should be made for Thursday’s draw.

At 36, the American is looking to regain her top form following the birth of her daughter last September. After sitting out of competition for over a year, she no longer had a ranking upon her return to the WTA circuit in March.

She has played just four matches this season across appearances at Indian Wells and Miami. But her results, far from convincing, have only been good enough to climb to 449th in the world rankings.

With a ranking so low, no player would typically even be able to take part in qualifying for the main draw. That is unless benefiting from a wildcard or using a protected ranking, which has at least allowed Williams direct entrance into the field.

It is a system that lets a player retain, for a transitional period, a former ranking upon return from a long absence — between six months and two years — due to injury, illness or pregnancy.

But it does not guarantee them a seeding, leaving Serena vulnerable to an encounter with leading title contenders as early as the first round.

At Miami, Williams ran into Indian Wells champion Naomi Osaka in her opening match and was easily beaten.

– ‘Grace period’ needed –

“She has won this title so many times (eight) that she needs protection,” Miami tournament director James Blake said after the WTA refused to alter its rules despite conceding that they would be “further reviewed” going forward.

“It’s not as if she left because of injury and lost her passion for the game,” Blake said. “She had a kid, which we should all be celebrating, so when she comes back there should be a grace period where she can still be seeded.”

Maria Sharapova also spoke up in support of her longtime rival last week.

“It’s a tough call, I would like to see that change,” Sharapova said. “I think that would be nice.”

At Wimbledon, which runs from July 2-15, the All England Club could elect to seed Serena using its unique system that favours grass-court specialists, given she is a seven-time champion.

But at Roland Garros, an event she has won three times, organisers are not ready to take such a step with the French Tennis Federation (FFT) reaffirming the seedings will reflect the latest WTA rankings.

Tournament organisers have been equally unmoved in the past when faced with similar situations.

Victoria Azarenka was unseeded at last year’s Wimbledon in her first Grand Slam since giving birth in late 2016, while Kim Clijsters was in a similar position at the 2009 US Open.

However, that didn’t stop Clijsters, who needed a wildcard just to compete in New York, from going on to lift the second of four career Grand Slam titles.

 The defending champions have now won two straight ties and will move into the knock-out stage along with Indonesia, who also collected two wins by 3-2 over Malaysia and 5-0 over France.

China and Indonesia are sure of their quarter-final places no matter what happens in their final group game against each other on Wednesday.

World No 5 Chen Yufei was extended to three games by Soniia Cheah before toughing out an 18-21 22-20 21-18 win to give China their first point.

The world’s top double team, Chen Qingchen and Jia Yifan, brushed aside Yea Ching Goh and Soong Fie Cho 21-9 21-8 before Malaysia reduced the deficit to 2-1 as 2017 SEA Games gold medallist and world No 31 Goh Jin Wei upset world No 8 He Bingjiao 9-21 21-17 21-13.

China fought back to seal off the deal when Huang Dongping and Yu Zheng won the second doubles match against Chow Mei Kuan and Vivian Hoo 21-9 21-15 and world No 31 Gao Fangjie wrapped up the encounter by defeating the 41st ranked Ying Ying Lee 21-16 21-15.

In the men’s Thomas Cup, Thailand despite a stunning win over world No 1 Marcus Fernaldi Gideon and Kevin Sanjaya Sukumuljo by Kittisak Namdash and Nipitphon Phuangphupet , lost to Indonesia 1-4, losing a chance to reach the next round. The Kingdom’s team however will play their last tie against Canada on Wednesday.

Defending champions Denmark also successfully booked their last-eight spot after a 5-0 win over Russia 5-0 in Group D, their second win after the 5-0 demolition over Algeria on Monday.

In Group C, Japan also moved into the quarter-finals after they beat Germany 4-1.

Klopp’s men started their Champions League campaign in a playoff against Hoffenheim just to make the group stages back in August.

Now, after plundering 46 goals in 14 games, Liverpool have made it back to the Champions League final in Kiev for the first time in 11 years.

“I don’t want to talk about confidence, but we feel good and think we deserve to be where we are because the boys really showed up in all the different games,” said Klopp on Monday.

“It was a very exciting journey so far and now we want to bring it to the best possible end.”

By contrast, Madrid are featuring in their fourth final in five years. But Klopp believes Liverpool can compensate for their lack of experience compared to the European champions with other qualities that have characterised their run to the final.

“If there is an experienced market, they should sell it because then they would be even more rich than they are already,” Klopp added of the Spanish giants.

“Experience is very important in life but not the only important thing in life, and especially in football. It is an advantage to be more experienced, but you can level it with desire, with readiness, attitude, work rate and that is what I love in football.”

Liverpool will be back in the Champions League next season no matter the outcome in the Ukranian capital as they held on to finish fourth in the Premier League despite a late-season blip in form as the physical toil of their European exertions showed.

– Refreshed and ready to run –

Klopp took his squad on a warm weather training camp in Marbella last week.

And he believes a two-week break between their 4-0 thrashing of Brighton to ensure a top-four finish and the final is the perfect preparation to ensure Liverpool’s high-energy style can be fully utilised on Saturday.

“It’s a very good moment for the club, for us, for the boys because we have finished the season in the best way we could,” he added.

“It felt really good and then having the time to prepare the game is really good. We could do a lot of things and didn’t have to rush it or compress it into two or three sessions. It was good recovery time.”

Liverpool defender Dejan Lovren is one of Klopp’s many success stories this season as the Croatian has improved significantly since being paired with club record £75 million ($100.6 million) signing Virgil Van Dijk in January.

“I feel personally much more confident when you know you have a really good partner next to you and he showed already at Southampton that he is one of the best defenders in the Premier League,” Lovren said of Van Dijk’s influence.

And Lovren urged Liverpool not to miss out on what could be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

“We have the biggest chance in our lives. For some of us, maybe it’s the only one,” he added.

“We have something to catch, (for the) whole squad it is the first time in the final of the Champions League. We know what we are playing for and how hard it was from day one.”

The 21-year-old suffered his fifth defeat in five meetings with Nadal in Sunday’s Italian Open final, but the way he fought back from losing the first set 6-1 only enhanced his already-burgeoning clay-court credentials.

The rising star has never reached the quarter-finals of a Grand Slam tournament, but he will be the second seed in Paris after winning his second Masters title on clay in Madrid, where he beat Nadal’s conqueror Dominic Thiem in the final.

A run of 13 wins in a row was only ended by 10-time French Open winner Nadal on Sunday, and Zverev is looking to continue his momentum.

“I try to play the same way, play the same way over a longer period of time, which will be in Paris,” he said.

“Right now, the next few days, I won’t even think about tennis. And then I’ll go to Paris and do my best to prepare and try to compete for the French Open.

“Of course, Rafa will be the favourite there, there’s no question about it. I’ll be in the other half of the draw. So, that’s a good thing.”

Before thrashing Thiem 6-0, 6-2 in Monte Carlo last month, Nadal said the Austrian was “probably one of the three best clay-court players on tour”, but the last fortnight has shown that Zverev is potentially even more dangerous.

By stepping into the court and attacking Nadal’s fearsome forehand with his double-handed backhand, Zverev turned the tide in the final at the Foro Italico, before the rains came and the Spaniard won five straight games to close out the match.

“I was not far away from beating Rafa on a clay court in a Masters final. So I guess I can take that into Paris,” he added.

“Great backhands help. But right now, I’m 0-5 in the head to head.

“I don’t know. We’ll see next time I play him. But right now, he’s in control of me.”

– German woes in France’s capital –

The last German man to lift La Coupe des Mousquetaires was Henner Henkel, who later died in World War II’s Battle of Stalingrad, in 1937 under the flag of Nazi Germany.

That victory over Britain’s Bunny Austin was the country’s third in four years at the French Open after two previous titles for Gottfried von Cramm.

Few would have believed then that over 80 years on Germany would still be waiting for another men’s champion, with Michael Stich coming closest in a four-set final defeat by Yevgeny Kafelnikov in 1996.

Unlike Stich and six-time Grand Slam champion Boris Becker, a three-time semi-finalist at Roland Garros, Zverev’s best surface is clay.

The world number three’s clinical win over Thiem in Madrid delivered his second Masters triumph on the red dirt, and he was possibly only a rain delay away from beating Nadal to add a third as he narrowly failed to defend the title in Rome.

“I kind of found the way, you know, felt like I had control over most of the points,” said Zverev.

“That is very important against him on clay… And then… The rain delay didn’t help me, definitely.”

Zverev’s poor form in Grand Slams can be put down to inexperience and finding himself lower down the seedings, although last year’s US Open second-round loss to Borna Coric was disappointing.

He was also the fourth seed when running out of gas late in the match against fellow youngster Chung Hyeon earlier this year at the Australian Open, but there can be no doubt that a major breakthrough is only a matter of time.

 There will be accusations of slights — real or imagined — greeted either with a giggle, an icy stare or a pitch-perfect, withering put down.

It can only mean one thing — Maria Sharapova is about to play in a Grand Slam event.

But not just any Grand Slam.

This is the French Open where she has won two of her five career majors but where, 12 months ago, Roland Garros chiefs took to the moral high ground.

From there, they told the Russian icon that she was not welcome, her recently-concluded 15-month doping ban considered too raw to allow her the convenience of a wildcard into the clay court showpiece.

Injury then ruled her out of Wimbledon before she made a stunning Grand Slam return at the US Open under the lights of Arthur Ashe Court in August.

“Behind this little black dress and the Swarovski crystals, there is a girl with a lot of grit and she’s not going anywhere,” said Sharapova after seeing off second seed Simona Halep in her New York opener.

It could just as well have been a riposte to Roland Garros three months earlier.

Back then the former world number one had seen her ranking slump to 173 as she started to rebuild a career which also doubles as a multi-million dollar brand empire.

Now, thanks to the characteristic cussedness that has served her well since her tennis odyssey began in Russia before being honed in Florida, the 31-year-old Sharapova is back in the top 30 and guaranteed a seeded place when the 2018 French Open starts on Sunday.

Only the very brave would write off the title chances of a player who was champion in 2012 and 2014, runner-up in 2013 and semi-finalist in 2011.

She is also hitting form at the right time.

Having endured a four-match losing streak for the first time since 2003, Sharapova arrives in the French capital on the back of a last-eight run in Madrid and semi-final spot in Rome where she took the first set off world number one Halep before drowning in a sea of errors.

– ‘So excited’ –

Reunited with former coach Thomas Hogstedt, her performance in Rome was her best run at such a level since the 2015 WTA Tour Finals.

“I like the way I’m competing and the way I feel out there. It’s an inner feeling. I like the attitude that I’m playing with,” said Sharapova, who added she was “going be so excited” to be heading back to Paris after “a tough period” in her life.

“I’ve had an incredible amount of memories there. Being in that environment, just even the practice and getting there on the first day, practising on centre court for the first time … I love it.

“There’s nothing that can replicate it. As long as I can continue to feel motivated by that moment, I’ll keep loving it and playing there.”

Fans and sponsors will be delighted to see Sharapova back on Court Philippe Chatrier, such is her pulling power.

Even when she was off tour in 2016, and saw her 11-year streak as the world’s richest sportswoman end, she was still commercial gold.

According to Forbes magazine, Sharapova saw her income during her suspension slashed by around $8 million.

However, she still pulled in a tidy $21.9 million with only longtime rival Serena Williams able to boast a healthier bank balance.

Her appearance in Paris will still rankle with some of her rivals.

Last year, former golden girl Eugenie Bouchard described Sharapova as “a cheater” who should have been banned for life.

However, this week, former world number five Bouchard, a Wimbledon runner-up in 2014, is down at 167 in the rankings and having to play qualifiers at Roland Garros.

Opting to rest world No 2 Akane Yamaguchi, the 5-time champions, who trounced on Sunday, sent in world No 9 Nozomi Okuhara as the first singles player and she did not let the team down, edging Canadian-Hon Kong Michelle Li 21-16 21-17.

Asian Championships gold medalists Yuki Fukushima and Sayaka Hirota then teamed up to beat Rachel Honderich and Kristen Tsai 21-14 21-9 before 2017 Indonesian Open winner won the third point for Japan by dispatching Brittaney Tam 21-14 21-14.

Shiho Tanaka and Koharu Yonemoto beat Anne-Julie Beaulieu and Stephanie Pakenham 21-5 21-13 in the second doubles before world No 17 Sayaka Takahashi clinched the whitewash with a 21-10 21-11 win over Catherine Choi.

In Group D, defending champions China opened their campaign with another 5-0 win, over France.

Thai women won their second succesive ties after they beat Hong Kong 5-0 to become the leader in Group B wuth two wins. They will play Taiwan on Wednesday.

In the men’s Thomas Cup Denmark, who two years ago became the first European winners in the tournament’s history, routed Algeria 5-0, the same score as Malaysia’s win over Russia.

The Thai men, after a 3-2 opening defeat to South Korea in Group B on Sunday, next play Indonesia on Tuesday evening.

It is going to be an important match for both countries as they seek a solid foundation to reach the knockout round. In Group D, Indonesia finds itself up against Malaysia, France and record 14-title holder and defending champion China.

Susy Susanti, head of sport development for the Indonesian Badminton Association (PBSI), said her team was ready to fight for a spot in the next round.

“The strategy for the [opening] match is based on head-to-head between players [of Indonesia and Malaysia],” Susy said on Sunday, adding that the association had decided who would play whom based on their respective condition.

The cup applies a best-of-match match — three singles and two doubles — with a tradition of sending off a country’s top player to open the match.

Indonesian Fitriani, world number 39, has a chance to play world number 31 Goh Jin Wei in Monday’s opener.

Susy said the world ranking would not affect the match, as she believed the individual player’s readiness was more significant when it comes to playing on the court.

“They are on the same level. They have beaten each other in previous matches. Now, it depends on their readiness, bravery and confidence when they step onto the court.

“We are optimistic, although we know it will be a tough match,” added the Indonesian legend, who helped the country win the cup in 1994 and 1996.

Indonesia, a three-time title holder, has been struggling to return to the top level after the 1996 victory. In the previous cup in 2016, Indonesia lost in the quarterfinals.

The 27-year-old had a nervy start as he dropped two shots on his opening nine holes. However, he recovered when it mattered most, scoring birdies on holes 11, 13 and 14 before holding on for his maiden Asian Tour victory on a 16-under-par 272 total at the St Andrews Golf Club in Henan, China.

Catlin, a two-time Asian Development Tour (ADT) who has earned his Asian Tour card by finishing third on the ADT merit list, took home a winner’s purse of US$54,000. He has risen from 44th to 20th place on the Habitat for Humanity Standings.

Thailand’s Natipong (66) and Australia’s Adam Blyth (70) share second place, two shots behind Catlin. Natipong shot six birdies during his flawless round, but it was a case of too little, too late. Blyth rued his bogey at the 10th, which took away his momentum in his chase for the title.

Shohei Hasegawa of Japan finished in lone fourth after carding a 69. Andrew Martin of Australia and Miguel Carballo of Argentina share fifth place, while Canada’s Justin Shin was a further shot behind in lone seventh place.

Huang Wenyi flew the flag for China, as he ended his tournament with a 71 for a 279 total. He finished in tied-eighth along with Australia’s Josh Younger.

The Asia Pacific Classic is the Asian Tour’s second stop in China this season. The tournament is part of the Asian Tour’s strategic partnership with the China Golf Association where the goal is to grow and develop professional golf in the region.

In a repeat of last year’s final at the Foro Italico, Ukrainian Svitolina, seeded fourth, was up against Halep a day after the Romanian top seed had ousted Russian Maria Sharapova.

But Halep’s hopes of overturning last year’s defeat to her 23-year-old opponent quickly evaporated in a completely one-sided encounter that saw the Romanian fail to produce a real challenge.

Svitolina, the world number four, has now successfully defended three career titles, in Baku, Dubai and also Rome; she also won in Brisbane and Dubai this season to take her 2018 title total to three.

The win also marked Svitolina’s 12th career title on what was her eighth final in succession.

“It was a really good match, from my side,” Svitolina said. “I dominated. I was trying to put lots of pressure on Simona with my game, tried to really take the ball early and open the court.

“It’s amazing that I could do this here a second time and defend. This is something very, very special.”

The French Open at Roland Garros starts next Sunday, and Svitolina added: “Roland Garros is still a week away, but this gives me confidence.

“Last year, it was the first time for me going into the Grand Slam as a favourite. This year, it’s different, I was hoping I was one of the favourites.

“I’m going to take it as a challenge. It’s very important to take one match at a time, just go out there and enjoy playing on the big courts, atmosphere.

“Roland Garros is what we are training for. And I’m gonna give it the best shot.”

Halep, who was broken four times and lost the opening set in 19 minutes, did not win a game until the start of the second, 24 minutes in.

The world number one saved match point before bowing out after 67 minutes.

“I was a little bit too stiff with my body. I couldn’t stay in the rallies, and I missed a lot,” Halep, who was treated off court for a reported back injury midway through the second set, said.

“She was solid. She is solid every time I play her. She deserved to win, for sure.

“I want to go (to Roland Garros), to be ready, to feel good, and to win the first round. Because always the first round is the toughest.

“Women’s tennis has changed and every tournament is open. Everyone has a chance to win, even a Grand Slam,” said Halep, who lost the 2017 French Open final to Jelena Ostapenko.

Thanks to reaching the final in Rome Halep will take the top seeding for Roland Garros.