Leicester City adds $135m to brand value but Man Utd remains top

UK – Manchester United may have finished fifth in the Premier League but it has remained first in the world’s most valuable football brands, worth $1.17 billion (£793million) according to the Brand Finance Football 50.

Wembley football_Crop

This is despite failing to qualify for the Champions League and sacking its manager, Louis Van Gaal. However signing Jose Mourinho as its new manager, securing the FA Cup and continued growth forecast have kept it at the top of this table.

But this season has been all about Leicester City’s meteoric rise; its on-pitch success has been matched in its brand value which increased 132% – making it the fastest growing football club brand – worth £160m.

The new Premier League broadcasting deal sees Sky and BT Sport share the rights to the next three seasons’ games for more than £5.1bn, a 71% increase on the previous period.

This has boosted the brand values of all premier leagues clubs and meant Manchester United remained just ahead of a resurgent Real Madrid. On the back of its Champions League victory, and a lucrative new kit deal, its value rose 32% to $1.15bn.

Brand Finance chief executive David Haigh said: “Leicester’s success is something their existing sponsors will only have dreamed of and their return on investment has been spectacular.

"Armed with a thorough understanding of what its brand is really worth to potential sponsors, Leicester will now need to carefully manage the flood of offers and opportunities it receives to both maximise revenue and create partnerships that will reinforce the club’s brand as well as its bottom line.”

We hope you enjoyed this article.
Research Live is published by MRS.

The Market Research Society (MRS) exists to promote and protect the research sector, showcasing how research delivers impact for businesses and government.

Members of MRS enjoy many benefits including tailoured policy guidance, discounts on training and conferences, and access to member-only content.

For example, there's an archive of winning case studies from over a decade of MRS Awards.

Find out more about the benefits of joining MRS here.

0 Comments


Display name

Email

Join the discussion

Newsletter
Stay connected with the latest insights and trends...
Sign Up
Latest From MRS

Our latest training courses

Our new 2025 training programme is now launched as part of the development offered within the MRS Global Insight Academy

See all training

Specialist conferences

Our one-day conferences cover topics including CX and UX, Semiotics, B2B, Finance, AI and Leaders' Forums.

See all conferences

MRS reports on AI

MRS has published a three-part series on how generative AI is impacting the research sector, including synthetic respondents and challenges to adoption.

See the reports

Progress faster...
with MRS 
membership

Mentoring

CPD/recognition

Webinars

Codeline

Discounts