19. Newcastle United — England
2014/15 season followers (millions):
Facebook: 1.8
Twitter: 0.7
Instagram: 0.01
Despite a disappointing season of relegation worries, Newcastle still has a healthy following of diehard fans, both at the stadium — revenues on matchdays grew this season — and online.
18. Everton — England
2014/15 season followers (millions):
Facebook: 2.4
Twitter: 0.7
Instagram: 0.2
A fierce rivalry with neighbours Liverpool means that Everton fans like to show their support on social media, ensuring the club easily made the top 20 most followed social media sites of any team.
17. Schalke 04 — Germany
2014/15 season followers (millions):
Facebook: 2.7
Twitter: 0.4
Instagram: 0.2
The "04" stands for when the Club was founded... in 1904. With that much history you can bet the team has built up a huge fanbase, and much of that has migrated online.
16. Inter Milan — Italy
2014/15 season followers (millions):
Facebook: 5.7
Twitter: 1
Instagram: 0.9
Another team with a big rivalry — AC Milan — Inter didn't have a great season last year, but the club remains hugely valuable thanks to its loyal supporters, which is why its Twitter followers grew by 29%.
15. AS Roma — Italy
2014/15 season followers (millions):
Facebook: 6.3
Twitter: 0.9
Instagram: 0.5
Roma expect to finish construction of a new stadium in the 2018/19 season, which will help keep its fortunes flowing, but in the meantime it can enjoy its sizeable social media following.
14. Tottenham Hotspur — England
2014/15 season followers (millions):
Facebook: 7.2
Twitter: 1.3
Instagram: 0.5
Tottenham has gone from a mid-table hanger on to a Premiership title contender in the last few years, and its online following has ballooned as a result. A huge rivalry with Arsenal doesn't hurt either.
13. Atletico Madrid — Spain
2014/15 season followers (millions):
Facebook: 11.9
Twitter: 1.9
Instagram: 1.2
Although Atletico Madrid relinquished the league title last year, stadium attendance and commercial revenues increased. It also grew the number of Facebook likes it has by 21% last year
12. Borussia Dortmund — Germany
2014/15 season followers (millions):
Facebook: 13.7
Twitter: 1.9
Instagram: 1.6
The first German team on the list, Borussia didn't have a great season, but its average attendance was over 80,000 — one of the highest in the world. Unsurprisingly, that's resulted in a lot of social media traffic.
11. Manchester City — England
2014/15 season followers (millions):
Facebook: 20.2
Twitter: 2.9
Instagram: 2.2
Although not as high as its sixth place on Deloitte's rich list, Manchester City still had a 26% growth in Twitter followers in 2015, despite relinquishing the Premier League title to Chelsea.
10. Juventus — Italy
2014/15 season followers (millions):
Facebook: 20.9
Twitter: 2.4
Instagram: 3
Juventus saw a huge 50% growth in Twitter followers and a 31% increase in Facebook likes from the year before. Winning the Italian Football Championship four times in a row and being the most famous club in the country has probably helped.
9. Paris Saint-Germain — France
2014/15 season followers (millions):
Facebook: 22.3
Twitter: 3
Instagram: 3.6
One of the richest clubs in the world is also one of the most followed online. PSG's relatively low TV revenues are supplemented by high commercial revenue thanks to its high profile players. This also resulted in more doubling its Twitter following in a single season.
8. AC Milan — Italy
2014/15 season followers (millions):
Facebook: 24.7
Twitter: 3.1
Instagram: 1.9
AC Milan was only 14th on the club rich list after a year-on-year drop in revenues, but it's considerably higher online, perhaps thanks to a fierce rivalry Inter Milan who they share a stadium with.
7. Liverpool — England
2014/15 season followers (millions):
Facebook: 27
Twitter: 5.2
Instagram: 2.3
Liverpool has always enjoyed a hugely loyal fanbase, and its recent hiring of the charismatic German Jurgen Klopp as its manager will only increase the online reverence.
6. Bayern Munich — Germany
2014/15 season followers (millions):
Facebook: 34.1
Twitter: 2.5
Instagram: 4.9
Bayern Munich had one of the biggest jumps in Facebook followers from last year, with 30% more likes. Much of this will be down to the club's increasing internationalism. A tour of China and a TV rights deal with Fox Sports helped boost Bayern's profile overseas.
5. Arsenal — England
2014/15 season followers (millions):
Facebook: 34.5
Twitter: 6.8
Instagram: 8.7
The first of three English teams in the top five, Arsenal recorded the highest matchday attendance revenue of the entire rich list, which clearly translates into a lot of fans online too.
4. Chelsea — England
2014/15 season followers (millions):
Facebook: 44.4
Twitter: 6.4
Instagram: 5.3
Chelsea won the 2014/15 Premier League, and despite some recent manager issues — it fired Jose Mourinho earlier in 2016 — social media traffic remains huge, particularly on Facebook.
3. Manchester — England
2014/15 season followers (millions):
Facebook: 67.6
Twitter: 18
Instagram: 24.5
The most followed English football team in the world, Manchester United has had a tough time since Alex Ferguson left in 2013, but its worldwide brand ensures its online presence is huge. United had the biggest Twitter growth of any team on the list, seeing followers increase by 62%.
2. Real Madrid — Spain
2014/15 season followers (millions):
Facebook: 86.4
Twitter: 18
Instagram: 24.5
Sorry Ronaldo, your team just missed out on number one spot in the social media stakes, although it is number one on Twitter. Despite missing out on internet victory, Real Madrid was the richest club in the world last year, Deloitte says.
1. FC Barcelona — Spain
2014/15 season followers (millions):
Facebook: 89.6
Twitter: 16.6
Instagram: 26.6
Second in the football rich list, but first in the overall social media followers rankings, Barcelona can probably put much of its online popularity down to Lionel Messi, often cited as the world's greatest living football player. With plans to increase their stadium to a capacity of 105,000 in 2017 they could reign for years to come.
