Manchester United, the world’s most valuable sports team according to Forbes, is now the first sports team in history to be valued at more than $3 billion. As Forbes reports, shares of the English Premier League giant have soared over the past few days due to strong earnings, new Asian sponsorship deals with Kansai of Japan and China Construction Bank, and the prospect of more lucrative EPL and UEFA Champions League payouts this year.

As first quarter earnings were actually lower than last year, it was optimism for the future that pushed United shares near the $17 mark for the first time, giving the club an enterprise value (equity + debt) of $3.3 billion, the highest of any team in the world. The National Football League’s Dallas Cowboys is the world’s second most valuable sports team, worth $2.1 billion.

Forbes warns that publicly traded sports teams are traditionally bad investments. Nevertheless, the Red Devils are bucking that trend -- for now, at least.