Man United remain most valuable brand in football

29th June 2016

Sticking with branding reports this week – and keeping it topical as the nation is gripped in the thrall of Euro 2016 – Brand Finance have just released their annual Football 50 report, naming Manchester United as the most valuable brand in football, despite the fact that they failed to qualify for the Champion’s League.

shopping bag

Photo by Jacek Dylag on Unsplash

Published just before the start of UEFA Euro 2016 the Football 50 report calculates brand value by examining each brand’s current revenues and estimating future sales and royalty income.

Premier League mega deal

Despite their recent failures, Manchester United retained their position at the top with a brand value of $1.17 billion. Their position was supported by a new broadcasting deal. The new Premier League TV contract is worth $1.5 billion, with television rights to be divided between Sky and BT Sport for the next three years. This epic deal not only boosts the brand value of Man United, but all of the clubs in the Premier League – with Man U in pole position just above Spanish team, Real Madrid.

Real Madrid come second

Coached by former French international, Zinedine Zidane, real Madrid have risen to second place in the chart this year with a brand value of $1.15 billion – following their recent success in the Champion’s League. Zidane’s appointment has also strengthened the brand by reinforcing their image as the ‘home of footballs biggest names.’ Their brand value was also increased by product endorsements from Adidas and a renegotiated TV deal with La Liga.

The best of the rest

UK football clubs occupy a further five positions in the top ten with the rest of the list as follows:

FC Barcelona
Manchester City FC
FC Bayern Munchen
Arsenal FC
Paris Saint-Germain FC
Chelsea FC
Liverpool FC
Tottenham Hotspur FC

Leicester the fastest growing brand

The biggest mover and shaker in the list this year was of course Leicester City. The shock Premier League winners saw their brand value increase by a whopping 132% to $237 million – placing them at No. 16 on the global top 50. This is a rise of 26 places from their previous position at No. 42 in 2015. David Haigh, Chief Executive Officer at Brand Finance explains what this means for the club’s sponsors:

“Leicester’s success is something their existing sponsors will only have dreamed of and their return on investment has been spectacular. Armed with a thorough understanding of what its brand is really worth to potential sponsors, Leicester will now need to carefully manage the flood of offers and opportunities it receives to both maximize revenue and create partnerships that will reinforce the club’s brand as well as its bottom line.”

You can download a pdf copy of the Football 50 on the Brand Finance website.