English champions Man City named world's most valuable football club brand

By Can Erozden

ANKARA (AA) - English Premier League champions Manchester City have been named the world's most valuable football club brand in 2023 on Tuesday with a value of $1.562 billion, a London-based brand valuation consultancy company said in a report.

Man City, who have many stars, including Erling Haaland, Kevin De Bruyne, and Phil Foden in their squad, topped the "Football 50 2023" list prepared by Brand Finance.

The Manchester club, which will face Italy's Inter Milan in the 2023 UEFA Champions League final on Saturday in Istanbul, slightly increased its value as it was $1.539 billion in 2022.

In the 2023 standings, the Abu Dhabi-owned club surpassed Real Madrid, who are now second with a value of $1.513 billion.

The Spanish powerhouse was in the first spot on the Football 50 list in 2019-2022, and the Whites' brand value was $1.768 billion in the 2022 list.

Real Madrid's bitter rivals Barcelona secured their third spot in the standings. Their recent brand value is $1.425 billion, but it saw a drop compared to last year.

Barca's 2022 brand value was $1.536 billion.

Robert Lewandowski-led Barcelona won the 2023 Spanish La Liga title, which was their first since 2019.

English clubs have dominated the top 10 standings of this year's Football 50 list.

In addition to leaders Man City, Manchester United (4th), Liverpool (5th), Arsenal (8th), Tottenham Hotspur (9th), and Chelsea (10th) are the other English clubs to be among the top 10 of the Football 50 2023.

Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), which recently won the French Ligue 1 title, moved to the sixth spot with a brand value of $1.174 billion.

Owned by Qatar Sports Investments, PSG came seventh last year.

German champions Bayern Munich were down to the seventh position in 2023 as the Bavarian club's brand was valued at $1.140 billion.

London clubs Arsenal, Tottenham, and Chelsea's brand values, each, did not reach $1 billion in the 2023 list.

- Top 20 of Football 50 2023