Manchester City spent €145 million during the 2022 summer transfer window as the club seeks to defend its Premier League crown. To strengthen their squad, the club signed five players for the first team; Erling Haaland, Kalvin Phillips, Sergio Gomez, Stefan Ortega, and Manuel Akanji. The new reinforcements helped the club to become the world’s best football team based on the Soccer Power Index.
According to data presented by Fair Betting Sites, with a Soccer Power Index of 93, Manchester City FC ranked above Real Madrid, Barcelona FC, and their rival Liverpool FC.
The Rise of Manchester City
Since being taken over by the Abu Dhabi United Group four years ago, Manchester City’s rise has been astronomical. The huge cash injection enabled the club to attract big names, and titles soon followed. After the last title-winning season, the club continued its on-field success.
The Soccer Power Index ranks football teams based on goals scored, adjusted goals, shot-based expected goals, and non-shot expected goals. These criteria result in offensive and defensive ratings for each team, which are then converted to an overall score on the Soccer Power Index.
According to the index, Manchester City dominates the football world. With a Soccer Power Index of 93, the Premier League club ranked three spots above the top Spanish clubs FC Barcelona and Real Madrid, which have 87.7 and 87.1.
Bayern Munich, as the runner-up, hit an index of 92.2. PSG ranked as the third most successful football team globally, with a Soccer Power Index of 90.4. Manchester City’s rival Liverpool FC follows, with 89 points on the scale.
The Second-Largest Brand in Football World
Besides leading the chart of the best football teams globally, Manchester City has also become the second largest brand in the football world this year. With a brand value of €1.32bn, Manchester City has pulled ahead of FC Barcelona for the first time since 2015. Last year, the Premier League club reported the highest revenue in the football industry, causing its brand value to jump by 18.7% in a year.
Real Madrid remained the dominant brand in the global football industry, with a value of €1.52bn. The third-placed FC Barcelona saw modest brand growth of less than 5% in 2022 to €1.3bn.
Liverpool FC has seen its brand value jump by 30% to € 1.27bn in 2022, ranking as the world’s fourth most valuable football club brand. Manchester United fell to their lowest-ever rank at 5th, with a club brand value of €1.25bn.
