Man Utd world’s top football brand

Wayne Rooney

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

 

Rank 2015 Rank 2014 Club Country Brand Value 2015 (US$m) Brand Rating 2015 Brand Value 2015 (US$m) Brand Rating 2014 Change (US$m) Change (%)
1 3 Manchester United England 1206 AAA 739 AAA 467 63%
2 1 Bayern Munich Germany 933 AAA 896 AAA 36 4%
3 2 Real Madrid Spain 873 AAA+ 768 AAA+ 104 14%
4 5 Manchester City England 800 AAA- 510 AAA- 290 57%
5 7 Chelsea England 795 AAA 502 AAA- 293 58%
6 4 Barcelona Spain 773 AAA+ 622 AAA+ 151 24%
7 6 Arsenal England 703 AAA 505 AAA- 198 39%
8 8 Liverpool England 577 AAA- 469 AAA- 108 23%
9 10 Paris Saint-Germain France 541 AAA- 324 AAA- 217 67%
10 12 Tottenham Hotspur England 360 AA+ 248 AA+ 111 45%
11 13 Juventus Italy 350 AAA 247 AAA 103 42%
12 9 Borussia Dortmund Germany 326 AAA- 327 AAA- -1 0%
13 11 Schalke 04 Germany 302 AA+ 313 AA+ -12 -4%
14 14 AC Milan Italy 244 AAA- 236 AAA- 8 3%
15 20 Everton England 228 AA 121 AA+ 107 88%
16 24 West Ham United England 209 AA 112 AA- 97 86%
17 New AS Monaco France 202 A+
18 30 Southampton England 183 AA 96 AA- 86 89%
19 17 Galatasaray Turkey 177 AA+ 141 AA+ 36 26%
20 15 Inter Milan Italy 160 AAA- 152 AA+ 7 5%

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