English clubs dominating the European football rich list
The marketing value of the English Premiership has grown exponentially in the last decade and, while the teams competing in the league have failed to cement their superiority over their European counterparts on the pitch, English clubs are dominating the European football rich list.
New research from the London School of Marketing has named the 20 most valuable clubs in Europe with five Premiership teams making the top ten, generating earnings of over £6bn between them.
Real Madrid are listed as the most valuable club in Europe with an estimated worth of £2.07bn with Manchester United closely behind, valued at £2.05bn. Barcelona’s £2.01bn secures the club the third spot, while Manchester City and Bayern Munich round off the top 5 with £2bn and £1.49bn respectively.
Other English Premiership clubs to make the rich list were Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool. Italian giants Juventus and AC Milan completed the top 10. Between them the top 20 clubs in Europe have a total market value of £16bn.
Revenue earned from the top five clubs has increased from £500m in 2000/2001 season to £2bn for the season 2013/14. The study attributes the clubs’ success to four key factors: investments, brand partnerships, huge fan bases and the celebrity of individual players.
Football has always proven a highly marketable platform but the rate at which clubs have increased their revenue illustrates how keen brands have been to have their name represented in the top flight of European football.
Manchester United have been instrumental in this respect, forming an array of global sponsorship deals, many of which focus on the illustrious Asian market. The popularity of its Adidas kit has also significantly contributed to its positioning as number two on the rich list. Rivals Manchester City have made similar moves including a recent £265m investment from Chinese investment firm China Media Capital.
Another reason for English clubs dominating the rich list can be attributed to the tussling between BT and Sky for TV rights to the Barclay’s Premier League. A bidding war between the two resulted in a £5.14bn deal for the league, equating to more than £10m per match.
Jacques de Cock from London School of Marketing described European football as a global marketing phenomenon and said name and brand recognition had helped “UK and Spanish teams dominate this market".
From a brand perspective, Jacques said “football clubs offer unique marketing opportunities as they represent five different promotional tangents that can be exploited".
The five areas are captive customer base, brand enhancement, global TV audience and reach as well as corporate entertainment. De Cock maintained that being associated with any of the top 20 clubs is “one the most highly valued marketing opportunities on offer".
He added that “from kit suppliers to having the shirt logo side by side with your brand, the iconicity and pure visibility of these endorsements proves that it is one of the best marketing opportunities money can buy".
Looking ahead the marketing expert said he expects to see “increased concentration of revenues and prestige and more professional management of global fans to assure the networks are managed commercially and systematically".
While some clubs such as Manchester City and Paris St Germain - 12th in the list- have to attribute much of their financial success to the huge financial injections from their recent Middle Eastern owners, other clubs have been able to compete using different models. Real Madrid, Barcelona and Bayern Munich are owned and controlled by their fans and have successfully marketed their brand without the help of huge foreign investment.
Regardless of a club’s ownership or success on the pitch it is clear that, despite Fifa’s recent scandals, football based marketing remains sacred land. English clubs are leading the way in foreign investment and sponsorship deals and as a result brands are still willing to jump on the global merry go round despite the sport's pitfalls.