Brand Finance club brand values: Real top, United down, Arsenal up

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EthanGoal

Community Member
Joined
Feb 6, 2025
Brand Finance have dropped another one of those club brand lists and, as always, it has got people arguing over what on earth it actually means. Real Madrid stay top, Arsenal are up there, United are lower than plenty would expect, and there is the usual debate about whether this is useful at all or just marketing fluff.

It is hard not to laugh at how seriously some of these rankings get taken when nobody even agrees on what “brand value” is meant to measure. Still, it does reflect how these clubs are seen globally, and that alone is enough to wind people up.

The big talking points seem to be United being below where many would put them, Arsenal’s rise, Chelsea and City’s place, and the odd absence of some Italian clubs near the top. Feels like one of those lists that tells you more about online arguments than football itself, but there is enough there to get stuck into.
 
United down in 8th has proper got me laughing ngl because even if you ignore trophies and all that the name alone feels bigger than half this list and yet here we are with people arguing over decimal points like its gospel and not just some marketing bloke having a guess
 
These lists always mix up brand recognition with actual sporting power. A club can be huge globally while still ranking oddly depending on the model, so the outrage is predictable. The numbers are interesting, but they are not some objective truth.
 
arsenal fans acting like theyve won the lottery because some suits said brand value and now suddenly theyre massive again mate calm down youre still watching the same club everyone roasted last year
 
how can anyone take this seriously when united are down there and city are somehow level with clubs that have actual history its just brand wanking for boardroom nerds and nothing more
 
People are acting like this is some final verdict on who matters and it is just ridiculous because a club is not only a balance sheet or a social media campaign or whatever these analysts think they are measuring, United being lower than some expect does not suddenly erase the fact that they are still one of the biggest names in world football and Arsenal being up there does not mean everyone has to bow down and pretend the last few years never happened, it is a weird list, sure, but half the replies are just pure tribal nonsense because people see a number they do not like and immediately decide the whole thing is fake, which is exactly why these rankings get attention in the first place, everyone is fuming while the consultants laugh all the way to the bank
 
United fans saying this is impossible are just ignoring how bad the last few years have been on and off the pitch and brand value is not the same thing as old reputation alone so it makes sense they are not automatically top three anymore
 
There is probably some logic behind it, but the wording makes it easy to dismiss. It feels more like a corporate exercise than a football one.
 
I can see why people are sceptical, because the methodology is never laid out in a way that feels intuitive. But if it is measuring perception, reach, and commercial pull then some of the odd placements are at least explainable.
 
If you are trying to rank brand strength then recent visibility matters a lot more than people want to admit. Clubs with constant European exposure and huge social reach will score well even if their actual football is not always better, which is why these tables look weird to old school fans
 
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