As media reports reveal the size of the ‘Ronaldo effect‘ on Manchester United’s social media engagement, Clubnets did some research to find out which were the most popular clubs on the four biggest social media platforms…and there were one or two surprises in there!
The Method
I’m not claiming this was the most scientifically valid of experiments, but I took the top six social media platforms by user base (Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, TikTok, YouTube and WhatsApp), discounted the two messaging apps, and looked at the top six clubs in a variety of football leagues from across the globe. I then literally looked at their official club pages and recorded the number of followers (Facebook, Insta, TikTok) or subscribers (YouTube).
Here are the results (accurate as of July 2022):
Top 5 Football Clubs on Facebook
With 114m followers, Real Madrid enjoy a healthy lead at the top of the Facebook popularity charts. Often touted as the most popular club in the world, Real Madrid reclaimed their La Liga title from rivals Atletico last season. Real Madrid (along with Barcelona and Athletic Bilbao) have never been relegated from the top division. In 2019, it was also determined that Real Madrid are the second highest-earning football club in the world, with an estimated worth exceeding 4 billion dollars.
Throughout their history they’ve won a record 35 La Liga titles.. On the international scene, they’ve seen major success, with 20 trophies: a record 14 European Cup titles, two UEFA Champions League titles, and four UEFA Super Cups.
Barcelona rank second on Facebook (107m followers), with Manchester United the Premier League’s most popular club on the platform (77m). Bayern Munich and Chelsea round off the top five with 56.3m and 51.7m followers respectively.
Top 5 Football Clubs on Instagram
Real Madrid also top the Instagram follower charts with a formidable 122m fans clicking the blue button. Barcelona put a stamp Spain’s domination of the Meta platforms by making it a La Liga 1-2. Barca boast 110m followers.
In third place on Insta are Paris Saint-Germain, some distance back with 61.4m followers. Manchester United fly the flag for the Premier League again, with 59.2m followers, and Juventus take fifth spot with Italy’s most popular club racking up 54.2m followers.
Top 5 Football Clubs on TikTok
Here’s where we start seeing some surprise results! ByteDance’s video sharing app, highly popular with the next generation of football fans is currently owned by … Paris Saint-Germain.
Yes, the snappability of stars like Messi, Neymar and Mbappe seems to have translated into hordes of TikTok fans – 28.4m of them!
As with Los Blancos, PSG restored footballing order by reclaiming Ligue 1 from Lille last season, drawing them level with Saint-Etienne’s record 10 titles. On the European stage they have a more modest haul – one Intertoto Cup and one European Cup Winners’ Cup (remember those!)
Real Madrid take third spot on TikTok, with 18.6m, only narrowly behind the Premier League’s representatives Tottenham Hotspur, with 18.4m followers. Yes, Spurs are definitely down with the kids on TikTok, and one can’t help but wonder if there is a Sonny effect going on below the radar! Barcelona are close behind with 17.4m followers, with Manchester United comfortably holding fifth spot with 16.2m followers.
Top 5 Football Clubs on YouTube
Finally there’s some good news for Barcelona, because they hold the bragging rights on YouTube with 13.6m subscribers, well ahead of Real Madrid on 8.24m.
Barca last lifted La Liga trophy in the 2018/19 season. While their haul of 26 titles puts them well behind Real, they do have the most domestic trophies overall, 75. They have lifted the European Champions League five times.
Flying the flag for the Premier League on YouTube are Liverpool, with a total of 7.47m subscribers. Gatecrashing the European social media party are 2020 Brazilian Serie A champions Flamengo. Flamengo, who have won the title seven times. have taken to YouTube like ducks (or flamingos) to water. The former rowing club from Rio enjoy the backing of 6.52m subscribers, narrowly ahead of Manchester United, with 6.27m
Football’s popularity doesn’t stop at social media or even TV viewership. It is also also the most popular sport in terms of betting. Online betting sites offer an extensive and thorough coverage of most football events, leagues and matches, making it all the easier to place a bet. On top of that, www.betstation.com doubles as an online casino, where you can play all your favorite gambling games.
Finally, football remains the most participated in sport, and despite the challenges and social changes, we must work together as a football family to ensure the health of the beautiful game. Global clicks, likes and memes are great, but they should never come at the expense of a thriving local and national game. Making sure people of all ages and abilities have access to football on their doorstep should be a national priority.
Main Photo © oasisamuel