Real Madrid overtakes Barcelona as most powerful football brand

Champions League winners Real Madrid have overtaken fierce rivals Barcelona as the world’s most powerful football club brand, but Manchester United remains the most valuable.

Valuation and strategy consultancy Brand Finance conducts an annual study, calculating the power and value of the world's leading football club brands, to create a "brand strength index" score out of 100.

Barcelona had been fractionally ahead of Real Madrid in recent years, but, after claiming yet another La Liga title and a record 12th Champions League victory, Madrid’s brand strength index score rose from 94.6 to 96.1, edging ahead of Barcelona on 95.4.

However, despite being football’s most powerful brand, it still trails Manchester United by a considerable margin in terms of brand value.

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Manchester United, despite finishing just sixth in the Premier League last season, is the most valuable brand in football, worth$1.733 billion (€1.537 billion) to Real’s $1.419 billion (€1.259 billion).

Brand Finance said the club's success was partly the result of an "enduring halo effect" from the good times under Alex Ferguson.

Crucial ingredient

However, the most crucial ingredient has been the club’s commercial nous and ability to convert its success into lucrative deals across dozens of industry sectors and national territories.

In contrast, while Real has blockbuster deals such as its reported billion euro agreement with Adidas, it has not leveraged its brand equity to the same extent as Manchester United, failing to pursue the same range of partnerships.

Premier League clubs continued to lead the world when it comes to commercialising their brands, with six of the top 10 most valuable football brands.

Title rivals Chelsea and Tottenham recorded some of the biggest gains after successful seasons that saw Chelsea win the Premier League under new manager Antonio Conte.

Commercially, Chelsea stands to gain significantly through a reported £900 million (€1.029 billion), 15-year deal with Nike as well as from a near 50 per cent increase to the capacity of Stamford Bridge.

Tottenham is also expanding its home. The new White Hart Lane has been designed and will offer 61,000 spectators the opportunity to see Spurs on home turf. Tottenham’s brand value is up 58 per cent on last year and Chelsea’s 61 per cent to $1.248 billion (€1.107 billion).

All Premier League teams continue to benefit from the vast revenues brought in by the latest broadcasting rights deal with Sky and BT.

International exposure

The relatively equitable split is particularly helpful to smaller clubs and helps to explain how a club such as Bournemouth controls a more valuable brand than much longer established European top tier clubs such as Olympique Lyonnais, Inter Milan, and AS Roma.

The costs of missing out on Premier League status are clear too. Another season in the Championship for Aston Villa and relegation for Sunderland meant both drop out of this year’s list.

Sunderland’s loss has been Newcastle’s gain. The Magpies’ promotion will see revenues return and restore international exposure to the Tyneside club. As a result, brand value is up 92 per cent to $247 million (€219 million), making Newcastle this year’s fastest-growing brand.

Juventus’ Serie A win and Champions League run helped improve brand strength by three points, putting the Italian club in the top five for brand strength. Brand value has improved significantly too, growing 72 per cent since 2016.

Bayern Munich has stayed level in fifth. The club made strides off the pitch to enhance the value of its brand. It is trying to make up for financial differences with European rivals by investing in China.

Its new Shanghai office is the first of any European football club to open in mainland China. The club has also launched two football schools in Qingdao and Shenzhen this year.