New data from Brand Finance reveals that the top ten most valuable football club brands in the Premier League are almost twice as valuable as the top ten in LALIGA
LONDON, 17 July 2024 – Manchester City FC remains the United Kingdom’s most valuable football club brand, with a brand value increase of 7% to GBP1.4 billion. Despite this increase, Manchester City is no longer the world’s most valuable football club brand, a position it held for the first time in 2023, after Real Madrid re-claimed the top spot following larger growth of 15% to GBP1.4 billion.
Manchester City’s consistent on-pitch success has driven record commercial and matchday revenues, contributing to its growing brand value. In 2023, Manchester City held the Premier League, FA Cup, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Super Cup, and FIFA Club World Cup titles. In 2024 the club also won the Premier League for the fourth consecutive year. Manchester City’s BSI score has improved considerably to 92.8/100, earning an AAA+ rating, the highest rating awarded by Brand Finance. According to Brand Finance’s research, the club achieves perfect scores for its ambition, for playing exciting and entertaining football, and for being well run and managed off the pitch, underscored by Pep Guardiola’s leadership style.
“The Premier League now dominates the top 50 most valuable football brands, featuring 17 clubs and leading in average brand strength. The top-ten English clubs are worth GBP7 billion, nearly double LALIGA's GBP3.8 billion, with an average BSI score of 80.4/100 compared to LALIGA's 70.9. As the top English football club brand, Manchester City is excelling not only in on-field success but also in brand value and strength. Though Real Madrid reclaimed the title of the world’s most valuable football club brand in 2024, City continues to grow robustly, driven by on-field triumphs and rising revenues. The club is also investing significantly to build its brand in key markets outside Europe. As the world's top teams look ahead to the upcoming 2024/25 season, Manchester City and Real Madrid are poised to continue their rivalry for the title of the most valuable football brand.”
Hugo Hensley, Head of Sports Services at Brand Finance
Manchester United FC has retained its position as the second most valuable UK football club brand with a 2% increase in brand value, now valued at GBP1.2 billion. This increase in brand value comes despite ongoing fan discontent regarding the team's poor performances as well as frustrations over the club’s ownership and prolonged takeover saga. The club’s Brand Strength Index (BSI) score has since dropped to 91.6/100, however, it still retains its AAA+ brand rating.
Liverpool FC (brand value up 1% to GBP1.2 billion) is also the UK’s strongest football club and second strongest football club brand globally. The club's BSI score has risen to 93.7/100, with an AAA+ rating. The Reds command perfect scores across metrics including its passionate fans, rich heritage, and great stadium.
Fulham FC is the UK’s fastest-growing football club brand, up 22% to GBP105.5 million, thanks to two consecutive Premier League seasons boosting revenues after their 2022 promotion. Close behind is Newcastle United FC, with a 21% increase to GBP260.6 million. Newcastle's revenues and BSI (73.0/100) have both risen, driving overall brand value growth.
Real Madrid (brand value up 15% to GBP1.4 billion) has reclaimed its title as the world’s most valuable football club brand, surpassing Manchester City, while FC Barcelona (brand value up 12% to GBP1.3 billion) retains 3rd place in the ranking.
With a brand strength index (BSI) score of 96.3/100 and an AAA+ rating, Real Madrid is not only the world's strongest football club brand but also ranks among the strongest brands globally, surpassing renowned names like Google, Coca-Cola, Ferrari, and Rolex. The club’s exceptional brand strength derives from its perfect scores across several metrics in Brand Finance’s research, including squad investment, stadia, and sponsorships. Real Madrid’s strategic investments in star players like Kylian Mbappé and Jude Bellingham are expected to further boost record-breaking revenue through increased matchday and merchandise sales, while enhancing global visibility and fan engagement.
Brand Finance is the world’s leading brand valuation consultancy. Bridging the gap between marketing and finance for more than 25 years, Brand Finance evaluates the strength of brands and quantifies their financial value to help organizations of all kinds make strategic decisions.
Headquartered in London, Brand Finance has offices in over 20 countries, offering services on all continents. Every year, Brand Finance conducts more than 5,000 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 over 5,000 brands, surveying more than 150,000 respondents across 38 countries and 31 industry sectors. Combining perceptual data from the Global Brand Equity Monitor with data from its valuation database enables Brand Finance to arm brand leaders with the data and analytics they need to enhance brand and business value.
Brand Finance is a regulated accountancy firm, leading the standardization 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.
