Real Madrid gain 45.1m social media followers but European soccer ...

Spanish champions Real Madrid amassed 45.1 million new followers on social media during the 2023/24 season, but the top five European soccer leagues have experienced a drop off in growth, according to data from Football Benchmark.

Confirmed: Real gained more followers than any other club and had the most engagement Los Blancos’ content on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and X generated 2.418 million engagements Al Nassr were second with most flowers gained in 2023/24, ahead of Manchester City, Barcelona and Atletico Madrid LaLiga’s follower growth drops from 28.8 per cent in 2022/23 to 5.9 per cent in 2023/24 Premier League’s growth decreased from 20.2 per cent to 9.4 per cent Ligue 1 achieves growth of 35.7 per cent in 2023/24 compared to 47.8 per cent in previous season Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo help turbocharge follower growth for Major League Soccer (MLS) and Saudi Pro League YouTube and TikTok primary channels where clubs have gained the highest number of new followers Real’s Jude Bellingham gains 21.9 million followers, an increase of 159 per cent, more than any other player in Europe’s ‘big five’ Al Nassr’s Ronaldo adds 47.8 million followers, the highest of any player Context:

Among the top 20 clubs that gained the most followers during 2023/24, seven are from LaLiga, five are from the Premier League, and three are from the Saudi Pro League.

Ligue 1, which had a smaller drop off in followers compared to the other ‘big five’ leagues, saw much of its follower base come from TikTok, highlighting the platform’s growing influence in sports marketing and fan engagement.

The French top flight and Italy’s Serie A also significantly strengthened their presence on Chinese platform Weibo. In contrast, the Bundesliga, Premier League and LaLiga focused prominently on YouTube and TikTok.

The fresh social media interest in the Saudi Pro League meant the competition nearly matched the Bundesliga and Serie A in terms of follower growth. MLS also gained 5.9 million new followers during the analysed period, surpassing the follower growth of Germany and Italy’s top tiers.

Football Benchmark concluded that the 2023/24 season highlighted notable shifts in social media engagement across leagues, clubs and players. In addition, the performance of MLS and the Saudi Pro League underscored the evolving dynamics within soccer’s digital landscape.

Coming next:

Real Madrid are adding another star player to their ranks with the signing of Kylian Mbappe, who added 16.2 million social media followers in 2023/24. The French forward will be officially unveiled as a Real player on 16th July at Santiago Bernabeu.

Get access to richer content, exclusive reports, unparalleled business intelligence, and community benefits to help you navigate the next frontier of sport and make more informed decisions with a SportsPro+ Premium membership. Discover more here.