‘Value’ is defined as: ‘The regard something is held to deserve; the importance, worth, or usefulness of something’ in the Oxford Dictionary. In their analysis of 50 football brands, Brand Finance defines value to be crucial to corporate brand sponsors looking to leverage the popularity and global appeal of the world’s ‘beautiful game.’
Driven to explore value in the Premier League, Ticketgum.com analysed data from the Football 50 report to find the most valuable football teams in England 2018. Before we begin, it’s important to note the report defines “Brand Value” as:
The value of the trade mark and associated marketing IP within the branded business. Brand Value represents the value of the transferable element of the brand – generally this is the trade mark (i.e. word mark, logo and strap line registrations), associated marketing IP (specifically domain names, trade dress, advertising copyrights, brand guidelines and manuals) together with the goodwill associated with those trademarks and marketing IP.
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The Analysis
Ticketgum found the most valuable football team in England is Manchester United FC. A current worth of £1,357 million places the club in the number one spot and presents a figure unchanged from 2017. This phenomenal brand value is, according to the Football 50 report, attributable to success on the field, influenced by consistently impressive revenue across all streams.
Next is Manchester City FC. Premier League champions for the third time in seven seasons, the club has a brand value worth £953 million; a 19% increase on 2017.
Taking third place in the table (£862 million) is Liverpool FC, whose resurgence on the pitch in 2017-18 has been matched by a 22% rise in brand value. In contrast, Chelsea have seen their value fall by -12%, yet still manage to land a respectable £856 million in brand worth.
Despite doubt over Arsene Wenger’s departure, Arsenal have seen their brand value increase by 5% to £776 million, yards ahead of rivals Tottenham Hotspur FC, with a complete club value of £548 million – an increase of just 1% from 2017.
The bottom three clubs include Brighton & Hove Albion FC, with £107 million, Southampton FC at £95 million, and Huddersfield Town, with a brand value of £94 million.
Interestingly, Southampton FC experienced the largest decline in value from all teams analysed at a staggering -57%.
To read more on the topic of value in football, check out a recent article on if there a correlation between a club’s market value and their Premier League position.
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