Manchester United’s value drops
LIVERPOOL are closing in on Manchester United as England’s most valuable football club after their Premier League title triumph, according to the latest edition of the Brand Finance Football Annual.
The Reds are up to fourth in the worldwide rankings, with their value rising by six per cent to £1,143 billion (€1.262bn), just £47 million behind Manchester United’s £1,190bn valuation — which represents a drop of £143m on the previous year and a fall to third in the rankings.
However, both clubs are some way behind leading LaLiga duo of Real Madrid and Barcelona, with the former retaining top spot despite making nearly a 14 per cent loss, with the coronavirus crisis causing the total brand value of top 50 clubs to fall for the first time in six years.
The Brand Finance Review shows that Real Madrid are positioned in number one with the total value of the club currently at £1.286bn (€1.419bn), despite a drop in value of a staggering £205m.
Barcelona’s value, meanwhile, actually increased by 1,4 percent — meaning there is now just £5,4m (€6m) between the two clubs at the top of the worldwide rankings — with Barca’s value a total of £1,280bn (€1,413bn).
Overall, the top 10 is made up of six English teams, with Manchester City in fifth after a 10.4 per cent decrease (a total of £118m) in their valuation to £1,018bn (€1,124bn).
Chelsea dropped a place to eighth, with their value decreasing for the fourth consecutive year, while Tottenham are ninth just above Arsenal by £58,9m (€65m), who are in 10th.
The Gunners in particular saw a huge drop in their value, with a decrease of £150m representing an 18,18 per cent drop on their 2019 valuation.
Spurs enjoyed a three percent increase in their value, largely because of the opening of their new £1 billion, 60,000-capacity stadium.
Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich are the only German side in the top 10 — they’re positioned sixth in the table — whilst PSG are the only French club and they sit seventh in the table.
Perhaps surprisingly, there is no Italian club in the top 10, with Juventus situated in 11th, Inter Milan 14th and AC Milan 22nd.
Bundesliga runners-up Borussia Dortmund are placed in 12th, Atletico Madrid are a place behind in 13th, while Champions League quarter-finalists Red Bull Leipzig complete the top-15.
Other Premier League clubs experienced huge increases in valuation, with Leicester City recording a 44 percent increase to £301m (€333m) as a result of their season in the upper echelons of the table, even though they just missed out on Champions League qualification on Sunday.
Wolves, who finished seventh in the table and are still in the Europa League, are also 30 percent higher than 2019, with their valuation standing at £219m (€242m).
Some Premier League clubs have experienced a sizeable drop in their brand value though, such as Bournemouth (-31 percent), Watford (-21 percent), and West Ham United (-18 percent).
Overall, the effect of Covid-19 on the three main revenue streams for clubs — matchday, broadcasting and commercial — has seen £680m (€751m), or 3,7 percent, knocked off the cumulative brand value of the world’s top 50 most valuable football clubs. — online.