Are Manchester United really the 'biggest' club itw?

Luftstalag14

Culé de Celestial Empire
On the most recent Athletic podcast, they had a guest on who mentioned that a recent online survey had Manchester United as the most valuable sports brand in the world and twice as valuable as the next one which was Barcelona.

I wouldn't call United the biggest club in the world since they are behind when it comes it sporting success and prestige in attracting players but they are probably still the biggest name/brand in this or any sport. The fact that they have managed to remain so talked about in the last 9 years while being so mediocre on the pitch is a testament to that.

This must be some sort of serious English bullshit. No way.

They probably think the whole world = the UK.
 

Sailor Mars

Well-known member
Manchester United are the most popular club in the most popular league in the world. And the financial gap between the EPL and other leagues is widening.
 

Luftstalag14

Culé de Celestial Empire
Aye thats why they claim Barca are second.

Top theory.

Both are BS. Man U is no way the biggest sports brand (some NFL brands are probably bigger), and we are not second either, we are probably in the top 10 though of all sports brands.

Last time I checked, of all football clubs only, Madrid is first and we are closely the second, just a tad less. But neither was the biggest I think, let alone Manchester United.
 

JamDav1982

Senior Member
Both are BS. Man U is no way the biggest sports brand (some NFL brands are probably bigger), and we are not second either, we are probably in the top 10 though of all sports brands.

Last time I checked, of all football clubs only, Madrid is first and we are closely the second, just a tad less. But neither was the biggest I think, let alone Manchester United.

Why do you care?
 

Sailor Mars

Well-known member
Both are BS. Man U is no way the biggest sports brand (some NFL brands are probably bigger), and we are not second either, we are probably in the top 10 though of all sports brands.

Last time I checked, of all football clubs only, Madrid is first and we are closely the second, just a tad less. But neither was the biggest I think, let alone Manchester United.

NFL brands are not big outside the US, but they do make a ton of money from the US. NFL is extremely popular in that country and the fact that TV networks can put so many ads due to all the stoppages in play is the biggest reason the league makes so much money.

But outside the USA, nobody really cares about the NFL or any of its teams.
 

JamDav1982

Senior Member
I care about us but here I am saying calling Man U the biggest sport brand in the world and saying it is twice as big as us is pure English manure.

You dont even have a clue if thta was said or where person who apparently said it is from... while the fact they put Barca second even if true negates your point anyway.

I would bet it wasnt even claimed on that podcast
 

Luftstalag14

Culé de Celestial Empire
NFL brands are not big outside the US, but they do make a ton of money from the US. NFL is extremely popular in that country and the fact that TV networks can put so many ads due to all the stoppages in play is the biggest reason the league makes so much money.

But outside the USA, nobody really cares about the NFL or any of its teams.

True, and I too thought saying the NFL brands are the biggest ones have some sort of American tinge or bias, but at least they were measuring everybody with the same yardstick.

There is no yardstick in the world that would put United the biggest and twice bigger as we are.
 

Sailor Mars

Well-known member
True, and I too thought saying the NFL brands are the biggest ones have some sort of American tinge or bias, but at least they were measuring everybody with the same yardstick.

There is no yardstick in the world that would put United the biggest and twice bigger as we are.

The only way NFL teams can be considered bigger brands are if you look at it only financially. The NFL has a hard salary cap, and revenue sharing. Guaranteed profits with their financial model. In soccer/football, big teams can sometimes eat big financial losses.
 

Luftstalag14

Culé de Celestial Empire
The only way NFL teams can be considered bigger brands are if you look at it only financially. The NFL has a hard salary cap, and revenue sharing. Guaranteed profits with their financial model. In soccer/football, big teams can sometimes eat big financial losses.

Again, you are not wrong but that's how one (Forbes) calculates "value" and some other branding agencies do the same, not all though. It is based on how much money they can bring in and attract. Is it flawed? Yes, but it is really hard to measure brand power based on other things like the number of fans (which is very hard to pinpoint). Hence.
 

Luftstalag14

Culé de Celestial Empire
Kingleo so desperate for a fight that he forgets there is a difference between the value of a sports team and the value of their brand :lol:

Not exactly the same but really hard to distinguish between the two these days by most measures. Mostly based on revenue etc.
 

Rassvet

Well-known member
You dont even have a clue if thta was said or where person who apparently said it is from... while the fact they put Barca second even if true negates your point anyway.

I would bet it wasnt even claimed on that podcast

I just listened to the segment again. He said there was a tiktok survery of global brands within the last two months and United came out twice as high as the next sports brand which was Barcelona.
 

DonAK

President of FC Barcelona
Man Utd being the biggest brand in the world wouldn't surprise me given EPLs dominance in Asia and Man Utd is the biggest English club brand-wise.

Now twice as big as the next team....that for me doesn't sound as believable. I would have also thought Real Madrid would be slightly ahead of us and not that far behind Man Utd.
 

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