Latest News
Real Madrid and Barcelona neck-and-neck as world’s most valuable football brands in the face of COVID-19
- Real Madrid remain world’s most valuable football brand, but Barcelona narrow the gap to just €6 million
- COVID-19 causes total brand value of top 50 clubs to decrease for the first time in 6 years – €751 million or 3.7% is knocked off
- English clubs dominate the ranking with six brands in top 10 and 19 in top 50
- Liverpool inches two spots up into 4th place, following historic Premier League win
- Bundesliga’s 1. FC Köln is this year’s fastest-growing brand, followed by Leicester City and RB Leipzig – all recording over 40% growth
- Tottenham Hotspur’s new stadium takes top spot in Buro Happold’s Venue Performance Rating
Real Madrid remain the most valuable football club brand in the world for 2020, according to the latest edition of the Brand Finance Football Annual. Boosted by winning the LaLiga title for the first time since 2017, the club retained its position at the top of the table in the football industry, but against a backdrop of economic and social disruption, caused primarily by the COVID-19 pandemic, Real Madrid’s brand value has declined by 14% to €1,419 million.
Real Madrid’s disappointing on-pitch performance prior to 2019-20, which saw an earlier-than-normal exit from the UEFA Champions League in 2018-19 and a second successive season adrift of LaLiga champions Barcelona, eroded the club’s dominance of the Brand Finance ranking. The situation was exacerbated by COVID-19, along with a lack of stability around the management of the team. Barcelona, Real’s fierce rivals, are just €6 million behind Real with a brand value of €1,413 million, supported by strong and diverse revenue generation and continued domestic performance in Spain.
COVID-19 knocks off €751 million of brand value
Real Madrid is not the only club to see a drop in brand value this year. COVID-19 has caused the total value of the top 50 football brands to decrease for the first time in 6 years. Through its effect on the three main revenue streams – Matchday, Broadcasting, and Commercial – €751 million or 3.7% has been knocked off the cumulative brand value of the world’s top 50 most valuable football clubs.
The COVID-19 pandemic has challenged professional football worldwide and across all levels. Matchday income for the 501 games remaining in the big 5 leagues dropped to zero, but it is often the smaller clubs and leagues which are more reliant on this revenue stream – in Scotland it makes up 43% of total revenue, compared to only 13% in England.
There have been some positive signs, as Southampton vs Manchester City on BBC broke the Premier League TV audience record with 5.7 million viewers, but the longer-term damage to the game’s economic structure has yet to be revealed.
Richard Haigh, Managing Director of Brand Finance, commented:
“Top-level football has been confronted with the largest existential threat since the Second World War. Loss of income, coupled with health concerns about mass gatherings, have raised question marks about the future of the industry and the financial resilience of clubs across all levels. The full damage of the COVID-19 crisis has yet to unfold and it is not inconceivable there will be casualties in the form of club bankruptcies and changes in ownership.”
Despite the huge implications of COVID-19 for football clubs and their financial results, the majority of the brand value is secured by the clubs’ long-term future – provided they can survive the initial shock. For example, only 21% of Real Madrid’s brand value is delivered by the next five years’ financial results.
Premier power
Real Madrid and Barcelona are followed by a cluster of English Premier League clubs in the Brand Finance Football Annual 2020 ranking, with Manchester United in 3rd position after their brand value fell by 11% to €1,314 million. Liverpool, who won their first league title since 1990 in runaway style, are in 4th spot jumping above Manchester City in terms of brand value, rising from €1,191 million in 2019 to €1,262 million, a 6% increase. Chelsea dropped one place in the table to 8th after their value fell for the fourth consecutive year to €949 million. This was arguably due to the club being absent from the UEFA Champions League and also suffering a transfer ban after being charged with breaking Financial Fair Play Regulations.
Powered by WPeMatico
Football
Stake releases ‘It’s All At Stake’ football tournament hero video
Stake on Monday, 8 June 2026 released its 2026 global football tournament hero video, starring brand ambassadors Sergio Aguero, Patrice Evra, Iker Casillas and Eden Hazard. The ‘It’s All At Stake’ creative is running across YouTube, Instagram and X, with the major tournament a week away.
The video places the four ex-players in short scenes built around football culture. Casillas is shown grabbing the attention of a fellow nightclub guest, Aguero helps a player off the deck in a five-a-side game, Hazard plays a coach, and Evra appears in a tattoo parlour where he inks a customer with the slogan “I love this game”.
Stake said the campaign is part of its wider tournament activity, with ambassadors positioned at the centre of its marketing around the event. The company said the creative is designed to capture the “highs and lows experienced by fans throughout the competition” and includes “humour, nostalgia and the personalities” of the four players.
Stake Director, Jarrod Febbraio said: “The 2026 global football tournament is one of the few sporting events that genuinely captures the attention of fans across every corner of the globe. We wanted to create a campaign that reflects the excitement, anticipation and passion that supporters feel throughout the competition while also bringing together some of football’s most iconic personalities.
“Having Sergio Aguero, Iker Casillas, Eden Hazard and Patrice Evra involved gave us the opportunity to create something entertaining, relatable and unmistakably football. The result is a campaign that celebrates the moments, emotions and conversations that make moments like this such a unique cultural occasion.
“At Stake, we aim to put our millions of customers at the heart of sport’s biggest moments. Whether fans are watching from the stands, at home or with friends, this campaign reinforces what it’s like when it’s all at Stake.”
The company also reiterated its position on responsible gambling, stating it is “committed to ensuring that our customers are educated on our various responsible gambling tools available for use”.
The post Stake releases ‘It’s All At Stake’ football tournament hero video appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.
Latest News
Spinomenal releases Story of Alice 2 slot with four-stage Free Spins Journey
The 5×4 title adds respins, shifting reels and extra Wilds across successive bonus stages hosted by Wonderland characters.
Spinomenal has released Story of Alice 2, its latest slot title set in a Wonderland-themed garden. The game runs on a 5×4 layout and features characters including the White Rabbit, the Mad Hatter, the Caterpillar, the Queen of Hearts and Alice.
In the base game, Wilds substitute for all symbols except the Free Spins symbol, and five on a line pay x300 the bet. The game also includes win multipliers that can appear while the reels are spinning, multiplying wins by x2 or x3.
The main bonus is a four-stage “Free Spins Journey” triggered by three or more full-sized scattered Free Spins symbols. Each retrigger moves players to the next stage, with each stage tied to a different character.
The sequence starts with the White Rabbit’s Winning Symbols Respin, where new winning combinations trigger respins and only the last respin pays. It then moves to the Mad Hatter’s Extra Wilds, adding three to five Wild symbols per spin, followed by the Caterpillar’s Shifting Reels Respin where wins trigger a respin and reels shift down by one row. The final stage is the Queen of Hearts’ Stacked Wilds Respin, where a fully landed stacked Wild on reels one to four triggers a respin; the company says five Wild symbols on a winning line pay x300.
Spinomenal CO-CEO, Omer Henya commented: “We are excited to welcome players back to Wonderland with Story of Alice 2. The Free Spins Journey gives the game a real sense of adventure and progression, and combined with its fantastic visuals, we expect players will be eager to chase the next feature.”
The post Spinomenal releases Story of Alice 2 slot with four-stage Free Spins Journey appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.
Latest News
PopOK Gaming partners with Ronaldinho for new slot title Ronaldinho da Sorte
PopOK Gaming has partnered with footballer Ronaldinho Gaúcho to launch a new online slot, Ronaldinho da Sorte. The supplier said the title is now available for integration and is aimed at the .com market.
PopOK Gaming said the game runs on a 3×3 grid with five paylines and is built around low volatility. The company listed an RTP of 96.19%, a hit frequency of 23.94% and a maximum multiplier of 5,000x.
Speaking about the launch, Ronaldinho said: “It makes me so happy, you know? To see that my football style becomes a game, it makes me really happy. I hope the fans will like it and will have fun and good moments.”
On gameplay, PopOK Gaming said Wild symbols substitute for other symbols, while a randomly triggered bonus feature selects a symbol (excluding Wild) and respins with only the chosen symbol, Wilds or blanks. The supplier added that landed Wilds and chosen symbols lock in place and that a second-chance re-spin is awarded if no symbols land on the first re-spin. PopOK Gaming also flagged Money symbols, multipliers, a dedicated bonus game and a bonus wheel as additional features.
The post PopOK Gaming partners with Ronaldinho for new slot title Ronaldinho da Sorte appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.
-
Asia6 days agoEGT Brings High-Impact Asian-Themed Portfolio to SiGMA Asia 2026
-
Africa6 days agoGaming Realms expands into three African markets via SportyBet partnership
-
Conference6 days agoDanish regulator to speak at Gaming in the Nordics launch event
-
Africa6 days agoGreentube partners with World Sports Betting to expand in South Africa
-
BETER6 days agoBETER expands US footprint with Illinois approval
-
Argentina6 days agoStake continues Latin American expansion with Argentina launch
-
affiliate marketing6 days agoCasinoCanada partners with LolaJack Casino to expand Canadian visibility
-
Ben Wood CCO at Playson6 days agoPlayson strengthens North American footprint with Caesars Entertainment partnership



