For the second year in a row, Real Madrid lead the way as the most valuable football club brand in the world, closely followed by FC Barcelona, who have overtaken Manchester United to move from third in the 2019 edition to second in this year's rankings.

 

According to the study by consultancy firm Brand Finance, Real Madrid's brand is valued at 1.419 billion euros, with FC Barcelona's just 6 million euros behind on 1.413 billion euros. There's then a sizeable drop-off to the rest of the top five, with third-placed Manchester United on 1.315 billion euros, fourth-placed Liverpool on 1.262 billion euros and fifth-placed Manchester City on 1.124 billion euros.

 

In addition to calculating brand value, Brand Finance's report also assesses brand strength by attributing each football club a ‘Brand Strength Index' score out of 100 based on metrics such as marketing investment, stakeholder equity and business performance. Real Madrid also lead this ranking with a score of 94.9, while FC Barcelona again come in a close second with a score of 93.6.

 

As Teresa de Lemus, managing director of Brand Finance Spain, said of the 150-page report: "There are two Spanish brands from the world of football who really make the overall Spanish brand shine and they are Real Madrid and FC Barcelona, the two most valuable and the two strongest brands in their sector on a global level. There is no doubt that Spanish sport is yet another thing for Spaniards to be proud of."

 

It's not only Real Madrid and FC Barcelona who are representing Spain and LaLiga in the latest Brand Finance top 50 for brand value. In total, eight LaLiga Santander clubs make the cut, with Atletico de Madrid (13), Sevilla FC (32), Valencia CF (36), Athletic Club (40), Villarreal CF (44) and Real Betis (50). The eight LaLiga clubs in the top 50 account for 20 per cent of the sector's total value, at a combined 3.938 billion euros.

 

LaLiga's efforts to work with its clubs on their digitalisation and international growth have clearly helped boost the clubs' brands. In fact, the average 2020 Brand Strength Index rating of Spanish clubs (79.0/100) is higher than that of any other country, including France (75.1), the UK (74.9), Italy (74.1) and Germany (73.2).