Football finance expert Kieran Maguire has spoken exclusively to Manchester City News about the risk of Liverpool overtaking City in terms of their brand and commercial income.
Earlier this month, Brand Finance published Football 50 2025, their latest dossier on the world’s most valuable and strongest football brands.
Manchester City’s brand value has fallen by 11 per cent year-on-year, according to the report, but it is still slightly higher than Liverpool’s at €1.4bn, or around £1.2bn.
At first glance, it would seem like Liverpool are in a good position to overtake City – the Reds’ brand value has gone up 2 per cent over the past 12 months.
However, Maguire has explained why City cannot be written off and why Khaldoon Al-Mubarak’s vision is crystal clear.
Khaldoon Al Mubarak chairman of Manchester City poses for a photo with the trophy with Pep Guardiola the head coach / manager of Manchester City during the Premier League match between Manchester City and West Ham United at Etihad Stadium on May 19, 2024
Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty Images
Manchester City see themselves as an ‘upstart club’ making a big impression in the United States
Maguire exclusively told Manchester City News: “The new deal with Adidas, the expansion of Anfield, the increase in the yield on the corporate and hospitality seats have put Liverpool in a very strong position.
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“They have fans in markets that have significant amounts of disposable income. If you look at the Asian markets in particular, that can benefit the club.
“There is a general feel-good factor both on and off the pitch – and that can become a virtuous circle.
“City are in a slightly different space. People underestimate the strength of the Man City brand. They see themselves as an upstart club.
“The fact they have got the new deal with Puma, who see themselves as an upstart brand, gives benefits to both parties. They both want to take on the establishment.
“There are certain Asian markets where City are very strong. City are also far stronger in America than many give them credit because of the expansion of interest in the league with the new TV deals and so on.
“There is a significant Latino market that watches the Premier League but there is a new emerging market in the US too who like City because they are successful.
“They aren’t interested in what happened 20 years ago at Old Trafford. They are looking at today. In Haaland, they have a fascinating brand in his own right.
“Ignore City at your peril when doing a marketing assessment because the US economy is growing far faster than Europe and there is a culture of paying premium prices over there.”
Spanish clubs dominate the latest Brand Finance Football 50 ranking: @realmadrid (EUR1.9 billion) retains the title of most valuable football club brand, @FCBarcelona comes in at second (EUR1.7 billion). They are also the two strongest football club brands.
Meanwhile, the… pic.twitter.com/LjMK9eRKcM
— Brand Finance (@BrandFinance) August 14, 2025
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Khaldoon Al-Mubarak’s stance on brand Manchester City
In June 2023, not long after City sealed the treble, Al-Mubarak spoke of City’s brand value, describing the club as the top football brand in the world.
“The club as a whole is well run, very well run,” the City chairman said at his end-of-season review, as per The Guardian.
“Today, the value of this group is over $6bn [£4.7bn]. We’ve created so much value – we’ve brought in world-class investors.
Why? Because we have a commercial machine here that is one of the best in the world. Our executives are being targeted by the best teams in the world – always.”
Mubarak described City as “the No 1 football brand in the world”, saying: “The club generates a tremendous revenue.
“You look at our sales in terms of what we produce, in terms of from our academy, from our first team.”