Champions League champions Bayern Munich have overtaken ManU to become the world's most-valuable club brand, according to the results of the latest BrandFinance Football 50 study. The annual study ranks the world's biggest football clubs by their brand value. Bayern's brand value has reached $860M, demoting ManU to second place. Despite ManU's legions of int'l fans and reclamation of the Premier League title, a truncated European campaign and an uncertain future following Manager Alex Ferguson's departure saw the club’s brand value fall 2%. Meanwhile, a loss on Saturday did not take the shine off Borussia Dortmund's season. Manager Jürgen Klopp's team achieved 14% brand value growth to $260M, which sees the club enter the top 10 for the first time at the expense of close rivals Schalke 04. The Bundesliga still has a ways to go before it can mount a real challenge to the global allure of the Premier League. The combined brand value for Bundesliga teams in the BrandFinance Football 50 is $1.9B, a long way behind the $3.1B total for the English teams featured in the study. Spanish, Portuguese and Italian football again see tough economic conditions hamper growth. Real Madrid managed to increase its brand value to $621M. Barcelona saw $8M cut from its brand value. Elsewhere, Turkish and Brazilian brands made great strides thanks to their booming economies and passionate domestic fanbases. Galatasaray AŞ is the highest-ranking Turkish team valued at $116M, while SC Corinthians Paulista ($103M) takes the honor of highest-ranking non-European club (BrandFinance).
