The failed European Super League (ESL) project has dented the brand strength of the 12 founding clubs and knocked over €600 million ($730 million) off their total brand value, according to the latest Brand Finance Football 50 report, which ranks the top 50 strongest and most valuable football club brands in the world every year.
While the ESL announcement visibly damaged the brand strength of the 12 clubs involved — Manchester United, Manchester City, Liverpool, Arsenal, Tottenham, Chelsea, AC Milan, Inter Milan, Juventus, Barcelona, Real Madrid and PSG — German champions have emerged as the world’s strongest football brand.
For the breakaway clubs, there was an average decrease score of -3.0 points in their Brand Strength Index, which is a balanced scorecard of metrics used to benchmark the power of brands to drive success for the business. For football clubs, this scorecard includes market research among fans, rating clubs across a range of attributes, including strong heritage, how well the club is run, and the owners’ care for the fans.
As well as damaging the strength of the 12 founding clubs’ brands, the ESL proposal has also knocked €606 million off the total brand value of the clubs, equating to a 6 percent year-on-year decrease.
Before the plans collapsed, Brand Finance calculated that the ESL could have stripped €2.5 billion — or 25 percent of the total — in brand value from the 12 clubs. Although much of this damage has been averted, the impact on the perceptions of all stakeholders is still significant.
The results can already be seen, with Liverpool losing the sponsorship of Tribus Watches and Manchester United being said to have missed out on a £200 million deal from locally based The Hut Group.
“The origin and demise of the European Super League is a story of branding. The 12 clubs considered their brands too strong and attractive to be sanctioned by other associations and above the footballing pyramid that validates their success,” Hugo Hensley, head of sports services, Brand Finance, said. “However, the communication, promotion, and positioning of the project were poorly executed, fueling a backlash from all stakeholders, leading to the dissolution of the group and resulting in painful brand damage.”
Unaffected by the ESL fiasco, and thus avoiding the disastrous damage, Bayern Munich has claimed the title of the world’s strongest football club brand this year, with a brand strength score of 91.9 out of 100 and the corresponding elite AAA+ rating.
On the pitch, Bayern’s performance has been unrivaled over the past year, winning the sextuplet of the Bundesliga, DFB Cup, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Super Cup, FIFA Club World Cup, and DFL Super Cup, ultimately leading them to be named the Laureus World Team of the Year for 2021. They are the first team ever to lift the Champions League with a 100 percent record, which included a famous 8-2 win over Barcelona and the 1-0 victory over PSG in the final.
Bayern’s leading brand strength score has contributed to an increase in brand value to €1,068 million and climbing up to fifth position overall in the ranking. The club’s enterprise value has also rocketed up by nearly €300 million to €3,606 million, allowing them to take the crown in that ranking too.
Bayern is finding out that it pays off to be perceived as the nice guy, with the club leading the figures for commercial revenue generation of any football team at €360.5 million, a key contributing factor to the year-on-year increase in enterprise value. Real Madrid, Liverpool, Manchester United and Manchester City round up the top five for enterprise value.
“The German 50+1 supporter shareholding model means that the fan is respected as the ultimate stakeholder,” Hensley said. “This has kept Bayern Munich out of the European Super League fiasco, while on-pitch performance has further boosted the brand’s strength. This is a positive signal for future sponsorship performance, and Bayern is already the football club with the highest commercial revenue in the world. These factors all come together to boost brand and business value.”
Despite the recent developments, Real Madrid remains the most valuable football club brand in the world for the third consecutive year at €1,276 million, with fierce rivals Barcelona in the second spot, with a brand value of €1,266 million.
While the LaLiga giants remain on the podium for 2021, it has now been three years since a Spanish club has reached the final of the UEFA Champions League, with the last appearance being Real Madrid’s victory over Liverpool in 2018. Despite this, both Spanish clubs have consistently been able to secure Champions League qualification year after year, with the last time either club failed to reach the group stages now more than 20 years ago. This consistent influx of Champions League revenues and status has played a central role in both clubs’ overall success.
Manchester United has retained third place despite suffering a 14 percent decline in brand value to €1,130 million, while 2021 Champions League finalists Manchester City are now just 1 percent (€12 million) behind their rivals.
After Bayern in fifth come 2019 Champions League and 2020 Premier League winners Liverpool, followed by PSG, Chelsea, Tottenham and Arsenal, with declines in brand value recorded across the board.
