Man Utd world’s top football brand

Manchester United has overtaken Bayern Munich to become football’s first billion dollar brand. Despite another season without silverware, the annual study by Brand Finance shows that the Red Devils record-breaking deals delivered 63 per cent growth and a value of $1.2bn. Under Louis van Gaal, Man Utd finished fourth in the Barclays Premier League.

Barcelona (6th) was overtaken by both English champions Chelsea (5th) and league runners up Manchester City (4th). FA Cup winners and third-placed Premier League side Arsenal is seventh. Europa Cup qualifiers Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool were ranked 10th and 8th respectively. Southampton is the fastest-growing football brand, up 89 per cent on 2014.

Champions League win can’t halt Barca’s slide

Barca’s resounding 3-1 win over Juventus caps a year of major successes, including Spain’s La Liga title and the Copa del Rey. The club made history by becoming the first to win the treble twice. Saturday’s game alone added $28m to Barca’s brand value, contributing to a overall increase on 2014 of $151m dollars, bringing the total value of the brand to $773m.

Yet, as glorious as Barca’s record may be, it simply has not been able to harness its brand to the same extent as rivals Real Madrid, whose brand is $100m more valuable, or the rapidly growing English teams. Man City and Chelsea both overtook Barca for the first time.

Thanks to sporting success and a squad with Messi, Suarez  and Neymar, Barca actually has the strongest brand of any club, rated AAA+ by Brand Finance. But ‘brand strength’ only reflects notional potential. For a club’s brand to generate income a business team that is as star-studded and tactically brilliant as the team on the pitch is required.

That, Brand Finance claims, is how to build brand value.

World’s most valuable football club brands