Writer, analyst, podcaster, Spurs fan. Three out of four is not bad. If there is a data angle, I will find it.
Although the best clubs in English football are known to compete for Premier League honours, there is a substantial battle emerging off the pitch and it is one that comes in the form of social media.
No longer are footballing institutions simply competing for silverware both at home and abroad, but they are also competing for the attention of a worldwide audience, and this can be gauged via the metric of social clicks.
Brand New Football League Based on Social Following
Whether it be likes on Facebook or retweets on Twitter, these are the currency that drives football clubs in the digital world and for those who ever wondered just who the social media league champions are, we can now provide the answer.
An answer that comes courtesy of tracking the “big three” follower data – Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, for each of the 92 professional clubs that currently operate within the structure of the English football pyramid.
From here, a simple addition of all three platforms, will then give us a league table in terms of overall followers and for those who cannot wait any longer, it is time to dissect the data and hand out the silverware.
SOCIAL MEDIA SUPER LEAGUE
To the surprise of hardly many, the top half dozen teams in our 92-team table are comprised of each of the six clubs that planned to leave the Premier League behind and depart to a rival European Super League instead.
Something that gives credence to the fact that the six biggest sides in the land, are also backed up by a hefty social media following and whether it be Manchester or Malaysia, fans across the globe are ready to lend their online support.
While with the makeup of the top six now revealed, it is time to highlight just who is the current pioneers of social media and the answer is as follows:
| Club | Division | Total | Combined Rank | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manchester United | Premier League | 85,000,000 | 64,300,000 | 38,600,000 | 187,900,000 | 1 |
| Manchester City | Premier League | 54,000,000 | 56,000,000 | 18,000,000 | 128,000,000 | 2 |
| Chelsea | Premier League | 56,000,000 | 42,500,000 | 26,200,000 | 124,700,000 | 3 |
| Liverpool | Premier League | 51,000,000 | 46,700,000 | 24,700,000 | 122,400,000 | 4 |
| Arsenal | Premier League | 45,000,000 | 30,800,000 | 22,600,000 | 98,400,000 | 5 |
| Tottenham Hotspur | Premier League | 35,000,000 | 17,100,000 | 8,800,000 | 60,900,000 | 6 |
As you can see Manchester United are not only top of the table, but they are considerably clear of Manchester City in second and although the Red Devils may be a fading force on the field of play, they have a huge advantage over their close neighbours in the digital realm.
Because the Red Devils currently find themselves with 59.9 million more overall followers than that of Manchester City and although new Sir Jim Ratcliffe is doing his very best to cut costs at the Theatre of Dreams he may have to give the social media team a pay rise.
Not only that, but they are consistent in their route to the top of the standings, as in each of the three platforms, the Old Trafford outfit have recorded the most followers at the time of the data capture.
With Manchester City managing to sneak past Chelsea into second there is a difference of just 3.3m total social followers between the two clubs and although the Stamford Bridge outfit have mobilised plenty of followers on Twitter, a shortfall on Instagram sees them edged out in third place overall.
At the same time, Chelsea just find themselves ahead of Liverpool and with the 2024/25 Premier League champions having dominated this season, it could eventually lead to a surge of social followers and further movement up the digital table.
The top four clubs all registering over 100 million social followers in total, Arsenal falling just short in fifth with 98.4m but at least they can take solace in being 37.5m clear of local rivals Tottenham who find themselves in sixth.
Often betting fans might cry that odds for their team with betting sites are not as big as they should be, but if all of these fans who follow on social media are also betting on their own teams to win, it is no surprise bookmakers have to tread cautiously with some of the most popular football teams on social media platforms, especially if the social popularity is mirrored in football betting tips.
THE TOP 20
Now that we know the make up of the top six, it is time to shine a light on those who would compete in the ‘Social Media Premier League’ and for those who would assume that the top 20 teams would also have the 20 biggest online followings, their assumption would be wrong.
| Club | Division | Total | Combined Rank | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manchester United | Premier League | 85,000,000 | 64,300,000 | 38,600,000 | 187,900,000 | 1 |
| Manchester City | Premier League | 54,000,000 | 56,000,000 | 18,000,000 | 128,000,000 | 2 |
| Chelsea | Premier League | 56,000,000 | 42,500,000 | 26,200,000 | 124,700,000 | 3 |
| Liverpool | Premier League | 51,000,000 | 46,700,000 | 24,700,000 | 122,400,000 | 4 |
| Arsenal | Premier League | 45,000,000 | 30,800,000 | 22,600,000 | 98,400,000 | 5 |
| Tottenham Hotspur | Premier League | 35,000,000 | 17,100,000 | 8,800,000 | 60,900,000 | 6 |
| Leicester City | Premier League | 9,500,000 | 7,900,000 | 2,700,000 | 20,100,000 | 7 |
| Aston Villa | Premier League | 6,600,000 | 4,300,000 | 2,400,000 | 13,300,000 | 8 |
| West Ham United | Premier League | 4,300,000 | 4,400,000 | 2,700,000 | 11,400,000 | 9 |
| Everton | Premier League | 4,700,000 | 3,100,000 | 3,000,000 | 10,800,000 | 10 |
| Newcastle United | Premier League | 4,700,000 | 3,100,000 | 2,800,000 | 10,600,000 | 11 |
| Wolverhampton Wanderers | Premier League | 3,400,000 | 2,900,000 | 1,200,000 | 7,500,000 | 12 |
| Southampton | Premier League | 3,500,000 | 1,400,000 | 1,600,000 | 6,500,000 | 13 |
| Crystal Palace | Premier League | 2,100,000 | 2,100,000 | 1,400,000 | 5,600,000 | 14 |
| Brighton & Hove Albion | Premier League | 2,200,000 | 2,200,000 | 1,000,000 | 5,400,000 | 15 |
| Watford | Championship | 1,700,000 | 1,100,000 | 900,600 | 3,700,600 | 16 |
| Leeds United | Championship | 1,500,000 | 1,100,000 | 1,000,000 | 3,600,000 | 17 |
| Fulham | Premier League | 1,600,000 | 1,200,000 | 794,600 | 3,594,600 | 18 |
| Sunderland | Championship | 1,700,000 | 723,000 | 1,000,000 | 3,423,000 | 19 |
| Nottingham Forest | Premier League | 1,200,000 | 1,200,000 | 702,500 | 3,102,500 | 20 |
Here we see that three clubs have disrupted the order within the world of social media and although Leicester may have already suffered relegation to the EFL Championship before the end of the 2024/25 season, they currently find themselves with the seventh overall fanbase.
A Premier League-sized online fanbase supporting what is soon to a second tier club and with a overall social fanbase of 20.1m, their digital army will soon be tasked with helping the Foxes earn another promotion to the big time.
As for the other relegated outfits Southampton and Ipswich, the Saints find themselves sitting 13th in the outright table and Ipswich find themselves positioned outside the top 20
Then again, one should not overlook the online the digital footprint that the trio of Watford, Leeds and Sunderland have amassed. All with more than 3.4m total followers across three platforms, all nestling nicely in the overall top 20.
OUTSIDE THE TOP TIER
Of course, what goes up means something else must come down and of those Premier League clubs who cannot match their status online, it is Bournemouth, Brentford, and Ipswich who have suffered the ignominy of virtual relegation.
| Club | Division | Total | Combined Rank | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sheffield United | Championship | 1,500,000 | 747,000 | 579,000 | 2,826,000 | 21 |
| Swansea City | Championship | 1,300,000 | 466,000 | 1,000,000 | 2,766,000 | 22 |
| Bournemouth | Premier League | 1,000,000 | 1,000,000 | 731,800 | 2,731,800 | 23 |
| Stoke City | Championship | 1,200,000 | 436,000 | 1,000,000 | 2,636,000 | 24 |
| Norwich City | Championship | 1,100,000 | 519,000 | 869,600 | 2,488,600 | 25 |
| Burnley | Championship | 939,000 | 714,000 | 820,600 | 2,473,600 | 26 |
| Brentford | Premier League | 1,300,000 | 787,000 | 380,900 | 2,467,900 | 27 |
| West Bromwich Albion | Championship | 876,000 | 415,000 | 1,100,000 | 2,391,000 | 28 |
| Wrexham | League One | 398,000 | 1,400,000 | 578,700 | 2,376,700 | 29 |
| Hull City | Championship | 1,100,000 | 601,000 | 574,600 | 2,275,600 | 30 |
| Derby County | Championship | 624,000 | 447,000 | 403,700 | 1,474,700 | 31 |
| Queens Park Rangers | Championship | 747,000 | 217,000 | 483,300 | 1,447,300 | 32 |
| Ipswich Town | Premier League | 411,000 | 615,000 | 292,900 | 1,318,900 | 33 |
The Tractor Boys may have had a taste of the Premier League this season but their online presence has yet to catch up. As a consequence, the Portman Round outfit find themselves lying 33rd overall.
10 places worse off than Bournemouth who are the highest-ranked Premier League team that is currently not in the top 20. They may be outside the elite, but there will have another opportunity to build their digital fanbase after such an impressive season under Andoni Iraola.
Due to that success, Iraola is in the sights of bigger clubs and the same could be said for his Brentford counterpart Thomas Frank. The Dane has once again overseen a Brentford side that has held its own in the Premier League but this only good enough for 27th overall in the social media table or seventh in the Championship.At the same time, a very special mention must go to Wrexham who after recently securing promotion to the Championship can also celebrate being 29th overall in the social media table as the Hollywood effect is certainly rubbing off in North Wales.
| Club | Division | Total | Combined Rank | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coventry City | Championship | 272,000 | 154,000 | 204,800 | 630,800 | 45 |
| Bristol City | Championship | 233,000 | 168,000 | 224,100 | 625,100 | 46 |
| Millwall | Championship | 214,000 | 160,000 | 173,100 | 547,100 | 47 |
Within the confines of virtual League Two, the champagne corks are being popped at Tranmere as they pip Cambridge United to the crown by a rather slender margin of just 3,500 followers.
From there, Northampton Town are just a further 1,900 behind with Lincoln City completing the top four and 1,300 followers behind the Cobblers' online support.
| Club | Division | Total | Combined Rank | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tranmere Rovers | League Two | 91,000 | 75,200 | 74400 | 240,600 | 69 |
| Cambridge United | League One | 95,000 | 54,200 | 86,900 | 236,100 | 70 |
| Northampton Town | League One | 45,000 | 92,100 | 97,100 | 234,200 | 71 |
| Lincoln City | League One | 72,000 | 81,100 | 79,800 | 232,900 | 72 |
While spare a thought for Barrow, as with just 81,100 combined followers at the point of data capture, it is they who are ranked the 92nd and lowest side in the broadband-based English football pyramid. Something that suggest their social media team may need some more pre-season training.
A CERTAIN RATIO
Of course, another way to look at all this social data, is by looking at it from a stadium capacity angle and just how many times these respective followers could fill the stadium of their most beloved football clubs.
Now for this to happen we have to normalise the data and therefore, we must assume that a superfan is a follower of his or her favourite club across all three of the social platforms – in doing so, we can get a count of unique fans rather than a combined total.
When taking this count of unique fans and calculating as a ratio of stadium capacity, we then get another league table from our 92 clubs in question and although Manchester United may have been champions from one angle, they do not have all their own way.
| Club | Division | Total | Unique Followers | Capacity | Unique Capacity Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chelsea | Premier League | 124,700,000 | 41,566,667 | 40,173 | 1035 |
| Manchester United | Premier League | 187,900,000 | 62,633,333 | 74,197 | 844 |
| Manchester City | Premier League | 128,000,000 | 42,666,667 | 52,900 | 807 |
| Liverpool | Premier League | 122,400,000 | 40,800,000 | 61,276 | 666 |
| Arsenal | Premier League | 98,400,000 | 32,800,000 | 60,704 | 540 |
| Tottenham Hotspur | Premier League | 60,900,000 | 20,300,000 | 62,850 | 323 |
| Leicester City | Premier League | 20,100,000 | 6,700,000 | 32,259 | 208 |
| Aston Villa | Premier League | 13,300,000 | 4,433,333 | 42,918 | 103 |
| Everton | Premier League | 10,800,000 | 3,600,000 | 39,414 | 91 |
| Bournemouth | Premier League | 2,731,800 | 910,600 | 11,307 | 81 |
| Wolverhampton Wanderers | Premier League | 7,500,000 | 2,500,000 | 31,750 | 79 |
| Crystal Palace | Premier League | 5,600,000 | 1,866,667 | 25,194 | 74 |
| Newcastle United | Premier League | 10,600,000 | 3,533,333 | 52,258 | 68 |
| Southampton | Premier League | 6,500,000 | 2,166,667 | 32,384 | 67 |
| West Ham United | Premier League | 11,400,000 | 3,800,000 | 62,500 | 61 |
| Wrexham | League One | 2,376,700 | 792,233 | 13,341 | 59 |
| Brighton & Hove Albion | Premier League | 5,400,000 | 1,800,000 | 31,876 | 56 |
| Watford | Championship | 3,700,600 | 1,233,533 | 22,200 | 56 |
| Fulham | Premier League | 3,594,600 | 1,198,200 | 24,500 | 49 |
| Brentford | Premier League | 2,467,900 | 822,633 | 17,250 | 48 |
This time it is Chelsea who scoop the honours, by virtue of their unique followers being able to fill Stamford Bridge 1035 times over. Now of course, this figure is somewhat enhanced by Stamford Bridge’s smaller capacity to its counterparts, but it is still an impressive feat all the same.
As before, the biggest six clubs fill out the first six places, so now it is time to look elsewhere for the biggest stories in our ratio table and they perhaps do not get any bigger than Wrexham possessing the 17th highest Capacity Ratio in English football.
The club which is owned by the Hollywood pair of Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney has a capacity of 13,341 at present and although tickets are rather rare these days, they would still be able to fill the Racecourse Ground 59 times over when you consider their unique online followers.
With the trophies now handed out, it is time for either celebrating or commiserating and the beauty of this particular league is that it never really ends. With more followers coming onboard on a daily basis, maybe their clicks will change the online fortunes of the club at the same time.
Data correct as of 28/04/2025 – social data captured from Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Capacity data captured from Wikipedia.
