Real Madrid Pass Manchester United as Most Valuable Football Club Brand

Real Madrid have passed Manchester United to become the most valuable football club brand in the world, according to a new report.

Brand Finance released its annual findings on Thursday (h/t Inside World Football), with Real the leading club in both the most valuable and strongest brands list.

Los Blancos' value increased nearly 27 percent to €1.646 million, while United's dropped to €1.472 million, a loss of almost six percent.

Barcelona are third in the value chart and second in the list of strongest brands. Bayern Munich and Manchester City complete the top five of the value list, while Liverpool beat the Citizens in the list of strongest brands, coming in fifth.

Tifo Football illustrated how Los Blancos became the most valuable club in the world:

The report explained how poor results and uninspired play have hurt United's value:

"Manchester United have disappointed in recent years on the playing field both in the Premier League and in the UEFA Champions League. Public perceptions of the brand have deteriorated as Manchester United ranks only 18th among the sample of the world’s top clubs with regards to 'playing exciting football', as revealed by Brand Finance’s original fan research."

Real's growth is remarkable and by far the biggest in the top 10. Ninth-ranked Paris Saint-Germain had the second biggest growth, with 21.3 percent, while Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool also cracked the 20 percent barrier. Outside of the top 10, Sevilla experienced the biggest growth, by nearly 50 percent.

The growth of Real is all the more remarkable considering they lost their most high-profile player last summer, with all-time club top scorer Cristiano Ronaldo joining Juventus. The Italian champions fell outside the top-10 list of valuable brands and finished ninth among the strongest brands.

Luca Bruno/Associated Press

Real also didn't claim any major silverware in the 2018-19 season, apart from the FIFA Club World Cup, and will finish well behind champions Barcelona and runners-up Atletico Madrid in the La Liga title race.

With 17 entrants, the Premier League has more clubs inside the top 50 than any other competition. Wolverhampton Wanderers were the highest-ranked new entrant, at 28, beating the likes of Sevilla, Celtic and even Champions League semi-finalists Ajax.

The Premier League's overall value also dwarfed that of other leagues. At €8.863 million, it more than doubled that of second-placed La Liga, which came in at €3.998 million.