Manchester City Named Most Valuable Club Soccer Brand at $1.6 Billion

Manchester City has the highest brand value among soccer clubs in the world at $1.6 billion, according to the latest annual rankings from Brand Finance. The club’s ascent to the top spot comes after it won the English Premier League last month for its third-straight league title. 

The top-ranking from Manchester City ends Real Madrid’s four-year reign as the most valuable club brand per the annual Brand Finance Football 50 Report. Over the past year, Manchester City’s brand value increased 13% while Real Madrid’s brand value slid 4% to $1.5 billion to now rank second on the report from Brand Finance. 

Revenue for Manchester City reached $761 million this past season, the fiscal year’s highest revenue total for any soccer club. The club’s key sponsors include Puma, Etihad Airways, OKX, Abu Dhabi Tourism, Emirates Palace, and Sony.

Manchester City’s top-ranked brand value comes as the club is planning $370 million worth of renovations to its Etihad Stadium. City Football Group, the owner of Manchester City and MLS club NYCFC, bought Brazilian club Bahia last month to now own 13 clubs across the world—fostering a global network of soccer talent development. 

Brand Finance says Manchester City’s brand value has grown 34% since the COVID-19 pandemic. The report’s assessment of club values included market research data from more than 10,000 soccer fans across Europe, Brazil, China, and the U.S.

FC Barcelona ranks third on the list with a $1.49 billion brand value, followed by the fourth-ranked Manchester United, fifth-ranked Liverpool FC, sixth-ranked Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich in the seventh spot. Brazilian club Flamengo ($104 million brand value) ranks 50th on Brand Finance’s report as the only non-European club to make the list.