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There is little doubt that European football is a global phenomenon. The top leagues across the continent are watched in vast numbers by viewers in all four corners of the globe.
LaLiga's recent streaming deal with Facebook across the Indian subcontinent and proposal to play a competitive match in the United States is a testament to the huge global attraction of European leagues.
Due to its popularity, many people who live thousands of miles away from their chosen European team closely follow everything to do with the club, often staying awake at all hours to see the games live. They also search for news involving their supported club on a regular basis.
English sportswear outfitter, JD Sports, has recently published a fascinating study which looks into the most popular clubs in the world based on search data. The data gives us an insight into which clubs are most popular in certain regions and whether particular club signings can influence the level of support in a country or area of the globe.
The global results show that Real Madrid is by far the most popular team in the world, topping the charts in 97 countries. Perhaps surprisingly, Arsenal came in second, winning 17 countries, and Manchester United in third, winning 16 countries.
However, the most fascinating part of this study is the breakdown of a club's popularity by region. Below, we look at Europe, Africa, and Asia to see which clubs came out on top across these three continents.
Europe
It is not surprising to see a broad range of clubs feature as the most searched for across Europe. Different to the other continents around the world, Europe clearly displays loyalty to clubs based in their own country.
For example, Italy, Spain, France, England, Germany, the Netherlands, Greece, Portugal, and Poland all search for home clubs rather than foreign teams. What does noticeably stand out, however, is the attraction of Real Madrid across Eastern Europe and Russia with the exception of Ukraine which searches for Ajax the most.
Barcelona proves most popular in a couple of Baltic countries, central Europe, and Turkey. In Scandinavia, Manchester United and Liverpool are extremely popular in Sweden and Norway respectively.
A theory for this popularity could do with playing personnel. Manchester United only became the most popular club in Sweden in 2016 following the arrival of Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Since the giant Swede's departure to MLS, monthly searches for the Red Devils have dipped and perhaps we will see a new team top the Swedish charts in the near future.
It is also worth looking at the United Kingdom in more detail. Arsenal is the most searched for team in the UK with an average search volume of 869,000 per month. Coming in second and third are Liverpool and Manchester United respectively with Chelsea in fourth place.
Where it gets interesting is the fifth and sixth positions. Barcelona and Real Madrid are the only non-UK teams to feature in the top ten most searched for sides across the British Isles. Spurs, Leicester, Leeds, and West Ham round off the top ten.
Click next to see the most searched for clubs in Africa.
Africa
Four clubs dominate Africa - Real Madrid, Arsenal, Manchester United, and Liverpool. As you can see from the map above, data is unavailable for Sudan and South Sudan for political reasons and they have not been included in this report.
What is most interesting about Africa is the split in club interest depending on the region. The South of Africa and around the Cape clearly favor Manchester United. For some reason, the Red Devils are also very well supported in Ghana to the West of Africa despite never having a player from that country.
Also popping up in Real Madrid territory is Arsenal who enjoy a huge following in Nigeria and Sierra Leone. The rest of West and Subsaharan Africa is dominated by Los Blancos. However, Arsenal also enjoys popularity across East Africa in countries such as Ethiopia, Somalia, Kenya, and Uganda.
Liverpool dominates one African country - Eygpt. If it isn't immediately obvious, the reason the Reds top the charts in the Land of the Pharaohs is down to their capture of Mo Salah last summer.
In fact, Mo Salah enjoys a higher number of monthly searches than Liverpool in his home country and whichever club he plays for will top their search charts for now.
Click next to see the most searched for clubs in Asia.
Asia
Once again, a sea of blue indicating Real Madrid dominates the Asian map. The entire Indian subcontinent searches for Los Blancos more than any other football team as does China and the Middle East.
Iran and Syria are excluded from the data for political reasons making Mongolia the only country across most of Asia to search for another team more than Real Madrid. That team is Chelsea who has gained huge popularity in the Asian country.
Southeast Asia is a different story, however. Myanmar, Singapore, and Malaysia all search for Manchester United more than any other club while Liverpool and Arsenal also enjoy a strong presence in the region.
The most surprising club on the Asian map is Ajax who is the most popular team in both South Korea and Taiwan. The growing presence of various European clubs across Asia during preseason may help to break the Real Madrid dominance over the next few years.
Further south, just off the map, Arsenal dominate both Australia and New Zealand while Real Madrid are the most popular team in North America. Below is the world map in full.
Whoich is the most popular club in your country and which team do you support? Let us know in the comments below.
