New Brand Finance data: One in five of the world’s top 50 most valuable football club brands are German
LONDON, 14th August 2025 – FC Bayern Munich (brand value up 1% to EUR1.3 billion) is Germany’s most valuable football club brand and ranks 6th globally, according to a new report from Brand Finance, the world's leading brand valuation consultancy.
The Bundesliga contributes 10 clubs in the top 50 most valuable football club brands, the second highest of any league. However, it ranks third by overall brand value contribution. In 2025, the top 10 German football club brands are collectively worth EUR3.4 billion, behind the UK’s 18 clubs (EUR9 billion) and Spain’s EUR4.7 billion across seven brands.
Borussia Dortmund (brand value down 2% to EUR614 million) is Germany’s second most valuable football club brand. The clubs value is now half the value of leader Bayern Munich. This reflects a wider theme of a growing concentration of brand value in just a few clubs across most leagues, highlighting a growing divide between global football’s elite and the rest.
Cristobal Pohle Vazquez, Regional Manager, DACH commented:
“Bayern Munich has reinforced its dominance in German football - both on the pitch and as a brand. Following a return to form in the 2024/25 season, the club remains Germany’s strongest and most valuable football brand. But Bayern’s influence extends well beyond national borders. According to our research, 32% of international respondents follow the club - second only to Manchester United. To rival Bayern’s brand value, other German clubs must broaden their global appeal. Until they do, they’re unlikely to close the gap.”
Real Madrid and Barcelona are the two most valuable and strongest football club brands in the world. Real Madrid’s brand value rose 14% to EUR1.9 billion, while Barcelona’s increased by 11% to EUR1.7 billion. Both clubs also received AAA+ ratings for brand strength.
The Premier League is the world’s most valuable sports league in terms of brand value with its top ten brands values totalling EUR8.2 billion – more than a third (37%) of the total value of the world’s top 50 most valuable clubs. What makes the Premier League particularly unique is the distribution of this value across multiple clubs. Six teams – Manchester City (EUR1.4 billion), Liverpool (EUR1.4 billion), Manchester United (EUR1.2 billion), Arsenal (EUR1.2 billion), Chelsea (EUR961 million), and Tottenham Hotspur (798 million) – each hold substantial brand value.
Seven football club brands achieve elite AAA+ brand rating, including four from the Premier League: Real Madrid CF (94.9/100), FC Barcelona (94.2/100), Manchester United FC (93.2/100), Arsenal FC (92.8/100), Liverpool FC (92.8/100), FC Bayern Munich (92.3/100), and Chelsea FC (90.1/100). What sets these clubs apart is their strong global perception, to support their domestic strength. While many clubs can rival their brand strength scores in their respective home markets, it is strong perceptions globally that takes a brand’s strength to the top level.
Brand Finance is the world’s leading brand valuation consultancy. Bridging the gap between marketing and finance, Brand Finance evaluates the strength of brands and quantifies their financial value to help organisations make strategic decisions.
Headquartered in London, Brand Finance operates in over 25 countries. Every year, Brand Finance conducts more than 6,000 brand valuations, supported by original market research, and publishes over 100 reports which rank brands across all sectors and countries.
Brand Finance also operates the Global Brand Equity Monitor, conducting original market research annually on 6,000 brands, surveying more than 175,000 respondents across 41 countries and 31 industry sectors. By combining perceptual data from the Global Brand Equity Monitor with data from its valuation database — the largest brand value database in the world — Brand Finance equips ambitious brand leaders with the data, analytics, and the strategic guidance they need to enhance brand and business value.
In addition to calculating brand value, Brand Finance also determines the relative strength of brands through a balanced scorecard of metrics evaluating marketing investment, stakeholder equity, and business performance, compliant with ISO 20671.
Brand Finance is a regulated accountancy firm and a committed leader in the standardisation of the brand valuation industry. Brand Finance was the first to be certified by independent auditors as compliant with both ISO 10668 and ISO 20671 and has received the official endorsement of the Marketing Accountability Standards Board (MASB) in the United States.
Brand is defined as a marketing-related intangible asset including, but not limited to, names, terms, signs, symbols, logos, and designs, intended to identify goods, services, or entities, creating distinctive images and associations in the minds of stakeholders, thereby generating economic benefits.
Brand strength is the efficacy of a brand’s performance on intangible measures relative to its competitors. Brand Finance evaluates brand strength in a process compliant with ISO 20671, looking at Marketing Investment, Stakeholder Equity, and the impact of those on Business Performance. The data used is derived from Brand Finance’s proprietary market research programme and from publicly available sources.
Each brand is assigned a Brand Strength Index (BSI) score out of 100, which feeds into the brand value calculation. Based on the score, each brand is assigned a corresponding Brand Rating up to AAA+ in a format similar to a credit rating.
Brand Finance calculates the values of brands in its rankings using the Royalty Relief approach – a brand valuation method compliant with the industry standards set in ISO 10668. It involves estimating the likely future revenues that are attributable to a brand by calculating a royalty rate that would be charged for its use, to arrive at a ‘brand value’ understood as a net economic benefit that a brand owner would achieve by licensing the brand in the open market.
The steps in this process are as follows:
1 Calculate brand strength using a balanced scorecard of metrics assessing Marketing Investment, Stakeholder Equity, and Business Performance. Brand strength is expressed as a Brand Strength Index (BSI) score on a scale of 0 to 100.
2 Determine royalty range for each industry, reflecting the importance of brand to purchasing decisions. In luxury, the maximum percentage is high, while in extractive industry, where goods are often commoditised, it is lower. This is done by reviewing comparable licensing agreements sourced from Brand Finance’s extensive database.
3 Calculate royalty rate. The BSI score is applied to the royalty range to arrive at a royalty rate. For example, if the royalty range in a sector is 0-5% and a brand has a BSI score of 80 out of 100, then an appropriate royalty rate for the use of this brand in the given sector will be 4%.
4 Determine brand-specific revenues by estimating a proportion of parent company revenues attributable to a brand.
5 Determine forecast revenues using a function of historic revenues, equity analyst forecasts, and economic growth rates.
6 Apply the royalty rate to the forecast revenues to derive brand revenues.
7 Discount post-tax brand revenues to a net present value which equals the brand value.
Brand Finance has produced this study with an independent and unbiased analysis. The values derived and opinions presented in this study are based on publicly available information and certain assumptions that Brand Finance used where such data was deficient or unclear. Brand Finance accepts no responsibility and will not be liable in the event that the publicly available information relied upon is subsequently found to be inaccurate. The opinions and financial analysis expressed in the study are not to be construed as providing investment or business advice. Brand Finance does not intend the study to be relied upon for any reason and excludes all liability to any body, government, or organisation.
The data presented in this study form part of Brand Finance's proprietary database, are provided for the benefit of the media, and are not to be used in part or in full for any commercial or technical purpose without written permission from Brand Finance.