Unveiled: European football clubs dominating social media, leaving English teams in their shadow

The much-anticipated 2024/25 Champions League kicks off on Tuesday evening, with fans eagerly anticipating what could be the most thrilling competition in years.

Defending champions Real Madrid have added Kylian Mbappe and Endrick to their team as they look to win a record-extending 16th European Cup, but they will face a stiff test from Premier League trio Manchester City, Arsenal and Liverpool, who all have designs on the trophy.

Perennial contenders Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich are all among the bookmakers’ favourites to be there at the final in Munich next year, while Juventus, Atalanta and both of the Milan teams lead the Italian charge, as Serie A looks to end a 15 year wait for a winner.

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We will also see the competition’s new format in play for the first time, after UEFA scrapped the tried and tested group stage for a new ‘league phase’, which sees all 36 teams put together into one league table, with each side playing eight matches against eight different teams. The top eight teams will qualify for the last 16, with the teams finishing between ninth and 24th entering a play-off round to determine the remaining eight knockout places.

That means we’re set for the biggest edition of the competition yet and the format arguably favours the biggest teams - but who exactly are the biggest sides?

Which team has the most followers on social media?

This is an argument that we’ve all had in the pub, but now Sportingpedia have looked to settle it, as they have produced a report that reveals just how many followers each team has on social media.

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With numbers taken from official accounts on X, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok, the report shows that Real Madrid are comfortably at the top of the pile with a combined 392.1million followers. Barcelona are the only other team with more than 300million followers (329.6million), while Manchester City are the first Premier League team to appear on the list in fifth place with just over 150million followers.

In fact, City, Liverpool and Arsenal combined have fewer followers that Real Madrid. at the bottom of the pile, Sparta and Slavia Prague, Young Boys, Slovan Bratislava and Sturm Graz all have fewer than one million followers.

Champions League clubs ranked by social media followersReal Madrid - 392.1mBarcelona - 329.6mParis Saint-Germain - 173.6mJuventus - 152.8mManchester City - 150.2mLiverpool - 138.7mBayern Munich - 130.7mArsenal - 102.7mMilan - 69.3mAtletico Madrid - 62.3mInter - 61.6mBorussia Dortmund - 52.3mMonaco - 20.1mAston Villa - 15.9mBayer Leverkusen - 14mMore Champions League stories

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