Manchester United despite finishing a very disappointing 6th in the Premier League this past season, remain the most valuable brand in global football. This according to the valuation consultancy experts at Brand Finance, who conduct an annual study calculating the power and value of the world’s leading football club brands.
That results of the that study were released today, and it found Manchester United to be worth $1.733 billion, topping second place Real Madrid $1.419 billion.
View the list of the 50 most valuable football brands here
United’s sixth place finish could have really damaged their brand value, as everyone below the top four does not qualify for UEFA Champions League. However, the Red Devils defeated Ajax in the UEFA Europa League Final in Stockholm, and thus secured their entry into next year’s big time European tournament.
United has enjoyed little success, especially by their very own lofty standards, since Sir Alex Ferguson retired in 2013. They have are on their third manager (David Moyes, Louis van Gaal and Jose Mourinho) since Fergie stepped down, and have finished in the league’s top four just once during that four season span. They have not come close to contending for the league title over that time frame, but have won three minor trophies (2015-16 FA Cup, 2016-17 EFL Cup and 2016-17 Europa League).
However, all the past glory of Manchester United has created a massive rabid worldwide fan base estimated to be more than 650,000,000.
This has led to astronomically lucrative corporate sponsorships, including the record setting shirt deal with Adidas.
They are metaphorically printing money at Old Trafford, meaning Manchester United can pretty much buy any player they want in the summer transfer market.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net and TheBank.News, partnered with FOX Sports Engage Network. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, currently contributes to WGN CLTV and KOZN.
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