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Football is the most popular team sport in the world and football clubs are some of the most supported teams in the world. The FIFA World Cup, which is the grandest and most prestigious tournament in the game, attracted a combined 3.572 billion viewers in 2018 – which is more than half of the global population aged four and over.
Thanks to the ease of access to live football telecasts all over the globe, there has been a steady uptick in the popularity of the sport over the last decade. Some of the biggest names in club football have a massive army of devout supporters well beyond their home country.
Despite the money-oriented nature of the modern game, fans remain the most important aspect of football. Clubs are now using social media to gain new supporters.
Though it might be impossible to find out exactly how many supporters a football club has, social media platforms provide a fairly reasonable metric in measuring the popularity of the clubs. Here, we take a look at five of the most supported football clubs in the world currently, based on social media followers.
All figures as of 21st September 2020 on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
#5 Chelsea - England, Premier League
Total supporters - 86.8 million
Five-time Premier League champions Chelsea are at the fifth position in our list and boast more followers online than the likes of Manchester City, Paris Saint-Germain, Bayern Munich and Liverpool.
The Blues emerged as a force to be reckoned with in the English top-flight in the early years of this century. Since then, they have added 19 trophies to their collection, including a Champions League triumph in the 2011-12 season.
Though they have lost some of their star players like Eden Hazard and Willian over the last two seasons, under Frank Lampard the club is undergoing a renaissance. They have added a lot of young and talented players to their ranks.
Here's how their 86.8 million strong-fanbase is distributed across the social media:
Facebook - 48.3 million likes
Twitter - 15.1 million followers
Instagram - 23.4 million followers
#4 Juventus - Italy, Serie A
Total supporters - 96.6 million
Juventus are the biggest club in the Serie A at the moment. Their dominance in the domestic league is evident from their ninth consecutive scudetto in the 2019-20 season.
They have hugely benefitted from Cristiano Ronaldo's arrival in 2018, both on and off the field. The Portuguese star is one of the most popular sports personalities in the world, and having him in their ranks has given a huge boost to The Old Lady's already significant fanbase.
The club has failed to replicate their domestic success in the UEFA Champions League. Supporters will not be very happy about the fact that they haven't been able to even make it to the semi-final in their previous three campaigns.
Here's how their 96.6 million supporters are distributed across the social media:
Facebook - 42.5 million likes
Twitter - 11.3 million followers (across all twitter handles)
Instagram - 42.8 million followers
Also See: Top 10 football players with the most fans in the world
#3 Manchester United - England, Premier League
Total supporters - 135.8 million
When talking about most supported football clubs in the world, Manchester United is one of the first names that comes to the mind. The club has a rich legacy, and many legendary players that have been associated with it.
Though the Red Devils have not enjoyed the same success since the departure of Sir Alex Ferguson in 2013, their popularity has not taken a hit at all. They recently backed a worldwide survey conducted by Kantar Media which revealed that the club has a gigantic fan base of 1.1 billion across the world.
Though the club clearly has a huge fanbase, the figure of 1.1 billion seems a little far-fetched. The survey just shows us another reason as to why it's near to impossible to give an accurate measure of any club's fan following.
United do have more than 100 million followers on social media, and that's a huge feat in itself. Here's how their 135.8 million supporters are distributed across the social media:
Facebook - 73.2 million likes
Twitter - 25.7 million followers (across all twitter handles)
Instagram - 36.9 million followers
#2 FC Barcelona - Spain, La Liga
Total supporters - 254.7 million
FC Barcelona have almost double the number of supporters online than third-placed Manchester United. That just tells us all we need to know about the La Liga outfit.
The Catalans have always enjoyed a lot of support from the fans as they have always had some of the world's best players in their ranks. In Lionel Messi have one of the greatest players of all time representing them currently.
Some estimates put the total number of supporters for the club at around 500 million, but again with no solid evidence to back that number up. Though we have not included TikTok followers in our account, the Spanish club leads the charts in terms of supporters on the video-sharing app.
As long as Messi is with the club, supporters are only expected to grow. Here's how their 254.7 million supporters are distributed across the social media -
Facebook - 103.1 million likes
Twitter - 61.8 million followers (across all twitter handles)
Instagram - 89.8 million followers
#1 Real Madrid - Spain, La Liga
Total supporters - 259.2 million
Real Madrid are royalty when it comes to football clubs. They are the most successful club in the Champions League history, and have always signed some of the biggest talents in Europe.
The Capital club has retained its status as the most valuable football club over rivals Barcelona. It also remains the biggest football club in the world, as it boasts the most supporters in the world at the moment.
The departure of players like Cristiano Ronaldo and now Gareth Bale seems to not have affected their popularity at all. Their La Liga triumph last season has ensured that they continue to expand their fanbase.
Here's how their 259.1 million supporters are distributed across the social media:
Facebook - 111 million likes
Twitter - 56.8 million followers (across all twitter handles)
Instagram - 91.4 million followers
Also See: 10 highest-paid players in La Liga this season
