NORMALLY WHEN WE look at a sports team’s financial clout, we take stock of things like turnover and assets in an attempt to get a nice round picture of their overall wealth.
One thing that is sometimes overlooked is the value of the team as a brand — that iconic crest, the famous team name, and the whole history and sense of identity that comes bundled with them.
We’re not particularly good with numbers over here on the sports desk, but the good people over at Forbes have been playing with their abacus and they’ve managed to identify the ten most valuable brands in the sports world.
This time last year, Manchester United were sitting pretty on top of the pile, but with the dollar increasing in strength against the pound sterling, they’ve since been leapfrogged.
Here’s this year’s list.
1. New York Yankees ($340m)
2. Manchester United ($269m)
3. Real Madrid ($264m)
4. Dallas Cowboys ($193m)
5. Bayern Munich ($179m)
6. Boston Red Sox ($173m)
7. Barcelona ($172m)
8. Arsenal ($158m)
9. AC Milan ($147m)
10. New England Patriots ($146m)
Not sure why Leinster aren’t on the list. Must be a journalistic oversight by Forbes. I’ll email them. Forbes seems like an organisation that would be open to some constructive criticism.
Bayern???
Munich
Typical EPL "fan" reaction. Bayern are huge in Germany. Just because they don’t play in England/Spain/Italy they can’t be a big brand.
I think Ferrari are missing from that list.