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Liverpool Echo
Liverpool Echo
Sport
Connor Dunn

Liverpool ranked third in world ahead of Barcelona and Real Madrid - Man United plummet

Liverpool have been ranked as the third best team in the world, ahead of the likes of Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid.

Premier League rivals Manchester United meanwhile have embarrassingly dropped to 34th behind the likes of Spanish minnows Leganes and Eibar as well as Greek side PAOK, Germany's Hoffenheim and Young Boys of Switzerland.

The global football club power rankings have been devised by statistics website FiveThirtyEight .

Blood Red: Klopp is prepared for the teams that want to beat the European champions

Researchers at the media outlet produced a Soccer Power Index (SPI) which provides teams with an offensive and defensive rating.

They then combine the two together to give an average score and rank how likely the team would be to win against an average team on a neutral field.

Before a season begins, a team’s SPI ratings are based on two factors: its ratings at the end of the previous season, and its market value as calculated by German football site Transfermarkt.

Manchester City are ranked top in the ratings while Bayern Munich are second - despite the Reds incredible 3-1 victory at the Allianz Arena in the Champions League quarter-final second leg to knock the Bundesliga giants out of the European Cup last season.

Jurgen Klopp manager of Liverpool celebrates the win at the end of the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 Second Leg match between FC Bayern Muenchen and Liverpool (John Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)

Liverpool were ranked third which is a strong position with Barcelona coming in as the top Spanish side in fourth, while Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid trailed them in seventh and eighth respectively.

Chelsea (fifth), PSG (sixth), Olympiacos (ninth) and Ajax (tenth) made up the top ten.

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