The latest edition of the Brand Finance Football Annual ranking for the most valuable football club, shows Manchester United have dropped by over £143million as one of the most valuable football clubs in the world, and number one in England.
The Red Devil dropped so heavily despite them qualifying for next season’s UEFA Champions League; a qualification they were able to secure right on the final day of the Premier League fixture, against Leicester City.
According to the latest ranking, Liverpool saw their value increased by over 6% to be placed 4th, just behind Manchester United. This was never a surprise, given what the club have been able to achieve in the last two to three years, both domestically, and in Europe.
Liverpool made £1.143billion (€1.262bn), just £47million behind Manchester United’s £1.190bn valuation – which represents a drop of £143m on the previous year and a fall to third in the rankings. Both Chelsea and Arsenal experienced a fall in their revenue, as rival and fellow London club, Spurs saw their value increased, and this could have been due to the new stadium, and their Champions League experience last season.
Both Real Madrid and Barcelona occupy the first and second positions, as the LiLiga giants retained their top spot despite making nearly a 14 per cent loss, with the coronavirus crisis causing the total brand value of top 50 clubs to fall for the first time in six years
The ranking table shows:
1 REAL MADRID £1.286bn / 13.8 per cent- (£205m fall)
2. BARCELONA £1.280bn / 1.4 per cent + (£18.1m rise)
3. MANCHESTER UNITED £1.190bn / 10.7 per cent – (£143m fall)
4. LIVERPOOL £1.143bn / 6 per cent + (£64.3m rise)
5. MANCHESTER CITY £1.018bn / 10.4 per cent – (£118m fall)
6. BAYERN MUNICH £957m / 19.6 per cent – (£233m fall)
7. PSG £876m / 5.8 per cent + (£48m rise)
8. CHELSEA £859m / 1.9 per cent – (£17m fall)
9. TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR £710m / 3.3 per cent + (£23.5m rise)
10. ARSENAL £651m / 18.18 per cent – (£150m fall)
The Brand Finance Review shows that Real Madrid are positioned in number one with the total value of the club currently at £1.286bn (€1.419bn), despite a drop in value of a staggering £205m.
Barcelona’s value, meanwhile, actually increased by 1.4 per cent – meaning there is now just £5.4m (€6m) between the two clubs at the top of the worldwide rankings -with Barca’s value a total of £1.280bn (€1.413bn).
Overall, the top 10 clubs is made up of six English teams, with Manchester City in fifth after a 10.4 per cent decrease (a total of £118m) in their valuation to £1.018bn (€1.124bn).
Chelsea dropped a place to eighth, with their value decreasing for the fourth consecutive year, while Tottenham are ninth just above Arsenal by £58.9m (€65m), who are in 10th.
The Gunners in particular saw a huge drop in their value, with a decrease of £150m representing an 18.18 per cent drop on their 2019 valuation.
Spurs enjoyed a three per cent increase in their value, largely because of the opening of their new £1billion, 60,000-capacity stadium.
Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich are the only German side in the top 10 – they’re positioned sixth in the table – whilst PSG are the only French club and they sit seventh in the table.
Juventus situated in 11th, Inter Milan 14th and AC Milan 22nd.
Bundesliga runners-up Borussia Dortmund are placed in 12th, Atletico Madrid are a place behind in 13th, while Champions League quarter-finalists Red Bull Leipzig complete the top-15.