August 24 – Real Madrid are the most popular club worldwide based on search data, far outstripping their city rivals Athletic Madrid who were the second place Spanish team, and arch rivals Barcelona who were the third based.
Real Madrid’s dominance was such that it was the most searched club in 97 national markets. Next best was Premier League Arsenal topping the search list in 17 countries, one ahead of Manchester United.
The research, by JD Sports, collated the average monthly search volume for the club names, filtered by countries, which was then drafted into a list from highest to lowest for each area.
Real Madrid dominated the Spanish market with a massive 1,050,000 average monthly searches. Atlético Madrid were searched on average 319,000 times per month while Barcelona had 246,000 average monthly searches.
In the Spanish market 7 out of the top 10 most searched teams were from La Liga. Liverpool were the most popular English team in Spain based on searches followed by Manchester City and Manchester United. Historically Liverpool have had a strong affiliation with Spanish players, with the likes of Fernando Torres, Xabi Alonso, Pepe Rina, Álvaro Arbeloa, Luis García and Iago Aspas all previously playing for the club, said the report.
Looking at Europe search data shows a greater sense of national loyalty to home teams. Most countries within Europe tended to stick to their own teams in the top club of interest, with examples from Germany, France, the Netherlands, Spain and Portugal amongst those opting for local interest.
Ireland opted for a British team as top of its list, choosing Liverpool as number one, as did Norway and Iceland.
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