United still most valued brand but City’s stock rises

MANCHESTER United retained top spot in a league table of the most valuable brands in football, but neighbours City’s on-field success has also seen its stock rise.

Consultancy Brand Finance has just published its annual Brand Finance Football 50 which continued to rank the club’s intellectual property as the most valuable in the football world, with a value of $853m (2011: $661m).

Defeated Champions League finalist Bayern Munich moved up from fourth in the rankings to second, with a brand value of $786m ($493m). It displaced Spanish giants Real Madrid and Barcelona, who each slipped a place to third and fourth respectively.

Meanwhile, after its Premier League title win, the consultancy said that Manchester City’s brand almost doubled in value to $302m ($170m). This moved the club into eighth in the worldwide rankings, ahead of Italian giants AC Milan (9th), Inter Milan (13th) and Juventus (16th).

Liverpool made up the triumvirate of North West clubs in the top ten, finishing just above Manchester City in seventh spot. Even though the club endured something of a patchy season on the field, its off-field value climbed to $367m ($250m).

David Haigh, CEO of Brand Finance, said: “This year’s study shows that even football isn’t immune to the Euro crisis, with Spanish and Italian teams being hit hardest.

“The two top teams operate different marketing strategies – Bayern prioritising its domestic fan base whilst United concentrate on global opportunities.”