Red Bull: Football's Corporate Engine

What if your favorite football club wasn't just a team: but a corporate product?

Since entering the football world in 2005, Red Bull has created one of the most recognizable and also most polarizing club networks in global football. The world-renowned energy drink brand owns clubs in the United States, Austria, Germany, and Brazil.

At the center of this is a simple idea. Football can be used as more than a game. It can be used as a platform to build a global brand, invest funds, and generate profit. Red Bull has turned this idea into a thriving business model that is now changing the way football clubs are operated and used.

How it Began: The Story of FC Red Bull Salzburg

Red Bull entered the football market in 2005 with the purchase of Austria Salzburg for an undisclosed fee. Swiftly afterward, the club was renamed FC Red Bull Salzburg, the iconic violet kits were replaced with Red Bull's red and white colors, and the traditional badge was swapped out with the company's logo. For many supporters of Austria Salzburg, this change was too much. Rather than feeling like a rebrand, a majority of fans felt that the club's identity had been erased. The backlash towards Red Bull was almost immediate and very intense, with fans strongly protesting what they saw as the commercialization of their beloved football club. In protest, a group of loyal supporters founded a new club, SV Austria Salzburg, in order to preserve the team's original colors, traditions, and values. The club began in the 7th tier of the football pyramid in Austria. By 2015, they had already reached the 2nd tier of Austrian football.

Unfortunately, this is where the fairytale ends. After a long-battle with financial strain and various licensing issues, SV Austria Salzburg were relegated to the 3rd tier of Austrian football, where they remain today.

Further Acquisitions

In 2006, a year after the purchase of Austria Salzburg, Red Bull completed the acquisition of MetroStars, a team in the MLS (Major League Soccer). Mirroring their first takeover, they hastily rebranded the club as the New York Red Bulls. Over time, the team became one of the most recognizable in the MLS.

In 2009, Red Bull created a new club: Red Bull Brasil in São Paulo. Although it began in the lower divisions, the club eventually merged with CA Bragantino in 2019, forming Red Bull Bragantino. Nowadays, they are a regular in Brazil's first division.

That same year, Red Bull completed the purchase of SSV Markranstädt in Germany, which was then rebranded as RB Leipzig. Despite immense backlash from supporters of the club, RB Leipzig rapidly climbed up the football pyramid in Germany, reaching the Bundesliga in 2016 and becoming a regular in UEFA Champions League competition.

Conclusion

Red Bull's football empire is often viewed through two very different lenses. To some people, it is a masterclass in sports investment and advertising. To others, it is a key representation of the increasing commercialization of football across the world.

Either way, the results of this marketing strategy are difficult to look past. Red Bull has built a multi-club group that produces talent, competes at high levels, and generates revenue both on and off the pitch.

As football and business continue to further integrate, Red Bull's model may serve as a blueprint for how mega-corporations can reshape the modern game of football.