Manchester United may have seen their sponsorship income decrease significantly in the past year, but they still earn the second most of any club in the entire world. That’s according to a study released by Forbes today, which conveyed FC Barcelona as the top earner ($247M this season), and the only club of the top three which saw a rise in sponsorship revenue.
United came in second at $202M and Real Madrid was third at $200M. FC Barcelona saw an income increase of $15M while United saw a dip of $12M from 2017. Real saw a dive of $16M from last year.
These revenue figures include income derived from stadium and kit partnerships. While United haven’t seen the same amount of success lately on the pitch as the two La Liga giants, not by a long shot, they still remain part of football’s big three in the world when it comes to branding and marketing. United still remain the richest club in the world, according to annual studies, so lots of credit to Executive Vice President Ed Woodward for that.
United are the top sponsorship earners in the Premier League, the flight which dominates the top sponsorship earners list. Chelsea ($148M), Arsenal ($89M), Manchester City ($77M) and Tottenham Hotspur ($74M) all cracked the top ten.
Barca’s rise to the position of the world’s top sponsorship earner was strongly influenced by their accomplishing world’s strongest club brand status. This designation came in May, via strategy consulting firm Brand Finance.
For a visual summary of findings, view the Football 50 infographic.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net and TheBank.News, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, a former writer for NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, is currently a regular contributor to SB Nation, WGN CLTV and Chicago Now.
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