Top 5 biggest Football clubs in the world.

Probably something like:
Real Madrid
Barcelona/Bayern
Man Utd/Liverpool
Juventus/Milan
Ajax?

Tended to prioritize current status (and implicitly finances) over other factors. Barcelona probably still carry greater cachet than Bayern (backed by infinite historic star power and no small amount of romanticism), but it's difficult to ignore the fact that Bayern are actually more successful, and have had a couple of lower profile but amazing teams of their own in recent memory. Milan are very much a faded force now (structurally or globally). The gap between Liverpool and United has never* really been as massive as between the other duos here. MU are probably in danger of largely following Milan in a few years, even if playing in the Premier League will likely shield them from the worst of it.

Ajax are ninth because their actual history is difficult for me to ignore at this point, but there are obviously plenty of other metrics by which they're almost hopelessly behind a battery of other clubs now.


*Since I've started watching mid-late Nineties, anyway.
 
Gio said:
More fans through the turnstiles - an extra 14 million in the history of the English league - reflecting United's extra reach.
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More glory supporters doesn't equal bigger club, or the LA Raiders would be the biggest NFL team on the planet despite them leaving LA 20 years ago.

When Liverpool win their 20th this season, they'll be equal with United there, and be ahead in all the others bar the FA Cup. They'll likely win their 3rd league cup on the trot in a month or so, and possibly a 7th European cup. You're viewing things through rose-tinted glasses if you think United are bigger.

I support Hull. We've won nothing, I have no dog in the fight - Liverpool are the bigger club in my opinion. United live on past glories, that will pass, fans will age. It's already happening. Liverpool are top of the league, in another final, and topped the CL group with ease. United are 13th, in the also ran European competition and can't win a game at home for toffee. Bigger club, or a fallen giant?

Go have a wander round London, Paris, Sydney, New York etc. You'll see how big United are. If you spot a red shirt that's not Liverpool, Arsenal or AC Milan, I'd be surprised. Even Chelsea sell more shirts in certain territories which shows heritage means little to certain generations.

And not to sound obvious, but of course United get more fans through the turnstiles when it's the biggest gate in England - by that metric Celtic is the biggest club in Britain. A lot of PL clubs could sell a game 3 times over. Apart from City of course.
 
Frostie said:
More glory supporters doesn't equal bigger club, or the LA Raiders would be the biggest NFL team on the planet despite them leaving LA 20 years ago.

When Liverpool win their 20th this season, they'll be equal with United there, and be ahead in all the others bar the FA Cup. They'll likely win their 3rd league cup on the trot in a month or so, and possibly a 7th European cup. You're viewing things through rose-tinted glasses if you think United are bigger.

I support Hull. We've won nothing, I have no dog in the fight - Liverpool are the bigger club in my opinion. United live on past glories, that will pass, fans will age. It's already happening. Liverpool are top of the league, in another final, and topped the CL group with ease. United are 13th, in the also ran European competition and can't win a game at home for toffee. Bigger club, or a fallen giant?

Go have a wander round London, Paris, Sydney, New York etc. You'll see how big United are. If you spot a red shirt that's not Liverpool, Arsenal or AC Milan, I'd be surprised. Even Chelsea sell more shirts in certain territories which shows heritage means little to certain generations.

And not to sound obvious, but of course United get more fans through the turnstiles when it's the biggest gate in England - by that metric Celtic is the biggest club in Britain. A lot of PL clubs could sell a game 3 times over. Apart from City of course.
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What I was getting at is there are almost two ways to define a big club:

1. Who is currently the biggest club right now - who is the most successful now and in recent years and has the most pulling power in the transfer market? That, by it's very nature, is a short-term measure.
2. Who is historically a big club? Who has the most trophies in their history? Who has the biggest fanbase that sustains when the club falls on hard times? That is the exact opposite of "glory supporters" and why I used that measure.

I think both matter. For example, for a couple of years in the mid-1990s, Blackburn Rovers had the money, the success and the pulling power to sign the best players in the English game. But what prevented them from being considered a big club? The lack of historical success for one. And secondly, doing all of that in front of 25,000 fans every week. Same for Parma a couple of years later in Serie A. City are a bigger and better version but not dissimilar in their barriers to being viewed as a big club.

Chelsea are a good case study in sustaining 1 and turning it into 2. They were a fairly big club up to the 1990s, but nowhere near the top table. But having been operating as a big club with huge investment and plenty of success (5 league titles and 5 European trophies) over a sustained couple of decades and longer, they are considered differently. The sneering they used to get in the 2000s from Liverpool and United fans has dissipated over the years. That is now reserved for City but as they sustain their success then they will too move up the ranks as well.

No dog in the fight here either for what it's worth. Nor a strong view either way - Liverpool have more success, United more support - but the differences are fairly marginal.
 
Frostie said:
More glory supporters doesn't equal bigger club, or the LA Raiders would be the biggest NFL team on the planet despite them leaving LA 20 years ago.

When Liverpool win their 20th this season, they'll be equal with United there, and be ahead in all the others bar the FA Cup. They'll likely win their 3rd league cup on the trot in a month or so, and possibly a 7th European cup. You're viewing things through rose-tinted glasses if you think United are bigger.

I support Hull. We've won nothing, I have no dog in the fight - Liverpool are the bigger club in my opinion. United live on past glories, that will pass, fans will age. It's already happening. Liverpool are top of the league, in another final, and topped the CL group with ease. United are 13th, in the also ran European competition and can't win a game at home for toffee. Bigger club, or a fallen giant?

Go have a wander round London, Paris, Sydney, New York etc. You'll see how big United are. If you spot a red shirt that's not Liverpool, Arsenal or AC Milan, I'd be surprised. Even Chelsea sell more shirts in certain territories which shows heritage means little to certain generations.

And not to sound obvious, but of course United get more fans through the turnstiles when it's the biggest gate in England - by that metric Celtic is the biggest club in Britain. A lot of PL clubs could sell a game 3 times over. Apart from City of course.
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So much wrong with this post. Let's disect.

You do realise that Utd averaged the highest attendances in the country when we were in the 2nd division. This wouldn't happen at any other club even Liverpool. This would still be true today. We are the poorest we've been in the last 30 years but still planning to build a 100K stadium. We wouldn't be doing this if demand wasn't there. How many teams in the world can dream of filling a 100K stadium when not competing in the League & CL.

Liverpool didn't win a title for 30 years. By your metric they would have lost many fans as they were living on past glories. The opposite was true as they expanded their stadium & filled it most weeks. You say this is happening at Utd yet we fill the biggest stadium in the country every week & are planning a 100K stadium. We have even increased ticket prices while failing on the pitch & demand still outstrips supply.

You being from Hull i can't imagine you get to London, Paris, Sydney & New York on a regular basis if at all. I do know though that Utd hold the highest ever attendance for a match in the USA. I also know from watching other sports worldwide that you are more likely to see people with Utd shirts on in the crowd than any other British club.

I don't have any idea why you bring Celtic up. You say if going off gates Celtic would be the biggest club in Britain. Celtic Park only holds 60K so still well short of Utd.
 
ExecutionerWasp001 said:
So much wrong with this post. Let's disect.

You do realise that Utd averaged the highest attendances in the country when we were in the 2nd division. This wouldn't happen at any other club even Liverpool. This would still be true today. We are the poorest we've been in the last 30 years but still planning to build a 100K stadium. We wouldn't be doing this if demand wasn't there. How many teams in the world can dream of filling a 100K stadium when not competing in the League & CL.
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Schalke and HSV? :angel:
 
ExecutionerWasp001 said:
So much wrong with this post. Let's disect.

You do realise that Utd averaged the highest attendances in the country when we were in the 2nd division. This wouldn't happen at any other club even Liverpool. This would still be true today. We are the poorest we've been in the last 30 years but still planning to build a 100K stadium. We wouldn't be doing this if demand wasn't there. How many teams in the world can dream of filling a 100K stadium when not competing in the League & CL.

Liverpool didn't win a title for 30 years. By your metric they would have lost many fans as they were living on past glories. The opposite was true as they expanded their stadium & filled it most weeks. You say this is happening at Utd yet we fill the biggest stadium in the country every week & are planning a 100K stadium. We have even increased ticket prices while failing on the pitch & demand still outstrips supply.

You being from Hull i can't imagine you get to London, Paris, Sydney & New York on a regular basis if at all. I do know though that Utd hold the highest ever attendance for a match in the USA. I also know from watching other sports worldwide that you are more likely to see people with Utd shirts on in the crowd than any other British club.

I don't have any idea why you bring Celtic up. You say if going off gates Celtic would be the biggest club in Britain. Celtic Park only holds 60K so still well short of Utd.
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Isn't that highest average attendance for United simply because Old Trafford has the highest capacity for stadiums in the UK bar Wembley? I'm not sure about the specific situation at Liverpool but it's an absolute headache to get tickets these days and I think there's a sizeable waiting list for season tickets, so don't think we would have much trouble filling a bigger stadium at all either. Not sure how the situation is at other top clubs. But attendance only counts for so much, if you look at the (2.) Bundesliga, and how teams like Milan and Roma struggle to fill their stadium in Italy (and even games I've been to in Nou Camp that were only 3/4 full and half of them seemingly tourists).

That highest attendance in the UK is also partly because it was at the Michigan Stadium, would imagine it'd be the same if it was Milan or Liverpool vs Madrid. Liverpool usually sells out each stadium in their pre-season tour I believe and we had a sold-out 95k stadium in Australia a few years ago.

Agree with the main sentiment of your post though, United hasn't stopped being a big club because you've been bad for the last decade or so.
 
ExecutionerWasp001 said:
You being from Hull i can't imagine you get to London, Paris, Sydney & New York on a regular basis if at all.
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I think this topic in general is juvenile and usually consists of Europeans (who love their nobility and class structures regardless of recent accomplishments) engaging in "my peepee is bigger than your peepee" behavior, but it occasionally results in gems like this comment :lol:
 
stefan92 said:
Not happening while Dortmund fills the biggest stadium in the country.
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Yeah, but they are selling out their (big) stadiums.
The OP acted as if only such a great club as United can sell out a big stadium in the second division.
 
RobinLFC said:
Isn't that highest average attendance for United simply because Old Trafford has the highest capacity for stadiums in the UK bar Wembley? I'm not sure about the specific situation at Liverpool but it's an absolute headache to get tickets these days and I think there's a sizeable waiting list for season tickets, so don't think we would have much trouble filling a bigger stadium at all either. Not sure how the situation is at other top clubs. But attendance only counts for so much, if you look at the (2.) Bundesliga, and how teams like Milan and Roma struggle to fill their stadium in Italy (and even games I've been to in Nou Camp that were only 3/4 full and half of them seemingly tourists).

That highest attendance in the UK is also partly because it was at the Michigan Stadium, would imagine it'd be the same if it was Milan or Liverpool vs Madrid. Liverpool usually sells out each stadium in their pre-season tour I believe and we had a sold-out 95k stadium in Australia a few years ago.

Agree with the main sentiment of your post though, United hasn't stopped being a big club because you've been bad for the last decade or so.
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The Milan that is averaging 72k and the Roma with 62k?
In general I agree with you, but both those were two bad examples. ;)
 
Acrobat7 said:
The Milan that is averaging 72k and the Roma with 62k?
In general I agree with you, but both those were two bad examples. ;)
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Isn't the capacity of San Siro 80k and Olympic stadium like 70k? I just meant that other historically great teams like Milan aren't even selling out their stadium on a regular basis. I can buy a ticket for their next home game no problem today, while I need to be a Liverpool member, then enter a ballot, and then pray to the Gods that I get chosen for one home game (against a midtable team at best because I need 8+ home games for the top fixtures these days).
 
To me, Celtic will always be the greatest, followed by Liverpool, but even if they were unranked on some random clickbait of the top 1000 clubs, wouldn't bother me a fig. I think that's the beauty of football, Shamrock Rovers or Queens Park could be the greatest to any supporter of them clubs.

However, if you were to try rank them in order of greatness, I think major honours can be the only way. Social media followings is meh, how many non Real Madrid football fans still follow them on socials, turnover too is great for the owners but the only thing that should matter to fans is success on the pitch.
 
RobinLFC said:
Isn't the capacity of San Siro 80k and Olympic stadium like 70k? I just meant that other historically great teams like Milan aren't even selling out their stadium on a regular basis. I can buy a ticket for their next home game no problem today, while I need to be a Liverpool member, then enter a ballot, and then pray to the Gods that I get chosen for one home game (against a midtable team at best because I need 8+ home games for the top fixtures these days).
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I think it’s a given that if Liverpool had a 100k seater stadium they would fill it. The two other clubs who would also fill it are Utd (obviously) and Arsenal (less obviously). Could you add Newcastle to that?

I don’t think Spurs or Chelsea would fill it other than for big games.
 
LochGormanAbú said:
To me, Celtic will always be the greatest, followed by Liverpool, but even if they were unranked on some random clickbait of the top 1000 clubs, wouldn't bother me a fig. I think that's the beauty of football, Shamrock Rovers or Queens Park could be the greatest to any supporter of them clubs.

However, if you were to try rank them in order of greatness, I think major honours can be the only way. Social media followings is meh, how many non Real Madrid football fans still follow them on socials, turnover too is great for the owners but the only thing that should matter to fans is success on the pitch.
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The only problem with that is that people have differing opinions on how long you go back. I’d assume that very few people would go any further back than WW2. But some might only go back to the start of the Premiership.
 
Acrobat7 said:
Yeah, but they are selling out their (big) stadiums.
The OP acted as if only such a great club as United can sell out a big stadium in the second division.
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Oh right, in that sense I agree.

2nd Bundesliga is crazy anyways, attendance numbers comparable to the first divisions in other big countries at the moment.

And even besides that... Oberhausen vs Duisburg had 27,000 in the stadium last weekend. That's the 4th division (!)
 
Easy. Undisputed Top 4 - RM, Barca, BM and Man Utd.

5th - Liverpool? Juventus? Arsenal?

Up and coming - Man City, PSG
 
ExecutionerWasp001 said:
So much wrong with this post. Let's disect.

You do realise that Utd averaged the highest attendances in the country when we were in the 2nd division. This wouldn't happen at any other club even Liverpool. This would still be true today. We are the poorest we've been in the last 30 years but still planning to build a 100K stadium. We wouldn't be doing this if demand wasn't there. How many teams in the world can dream of filling a 100K stadium when not competing in the League & CL.

Liverpool didn't win a title for 30 years. By your metric they would have lost many fans as they were living on past glories. The opposite was true as they expanded their stadium & filled it most weeks. You say this is happening at Utd yet we fill the biggest stadium in the country every week & are planning a 100K stadium. We have even increased ticket prices while failing on the pitch & demand still outstrips supply.

You being from Hull i can't imagine you get to London, Paris, Sydney & New York on a regular basis if at all. I do know though that Utd hold the highest ever attendance for a match in the USA. I also know from watching other sports worldwide that you are more likely to see people with Utd shirts on in the crowd than any other British club.

I don't have any idea why you bring Celtic up. You say if going off gates Celtic would be the biggest club in Britain. Celtic Park only holds 60K so still well short of Utd.
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That certainly isn't true now if we dropped to the championship.

Liverpool are the most watched team worldwide.
 
1. Flamengo
2. Al-Ahly
3. Corinthian Casuals
4. Notts County
3. Richmond
 
I was thinking about this earlier and a top 5 just seems too harsh to leave some clubs out (i really don't think Ac Milan should be left out for instance, but then there are other clubs likewise). If you extend it to a top 10 then it becomes much easier and fairer. If we're judging on many decades of history, prestige, fan base, European titles, legendary players, no oil money financial doping, then a top 10 must surely be (in whatever order):

  1. Real Madrid
  2. Barcelona
  3. Manchester United
  4. Liverpool
  5. Bayern Munich
  6. AC Milan
  7. Juventus
  8. Inter
  9. Ajax
  10. Dortmund
Am I missing anyone or are some inclusions debatable? No French teams there which feels weird but right. I always maintain Arsenal are the third biggest club in England but their lack of European success is a big argument against them. I think Dortmund are the only club on the list with just the one European cup/Champions League so I'm not sure about them, though they are a special club. Chelsea were a decent sized club but their history is not that impressive before the takeover in 2003-04. Celtic maybe?
 
Irwin99 said:
I was thinking about this earlier and a top 5 just seems too harsh to leave some clubs out (i really don't think Ac Milan should be left out for instance, but then there are other clubs likewise). If you extend it to a top 10 then it becomes much easier and fairer. If we're judging on many decades of history, prestige, fan base, European titles, legendary players, no oil money financial doping, then a top 10 must surely be (in whatever order):

  1. Real Madrid
  2. Barcelona
  3. Manchester United
  4. Liverpool
  5. Bayern Munich
  6. AC Milan
  7. Juventus
  8. Inter
  9. Ajax
  10. Dortmund
Am I missing anyone or are some inclusions debatable? No French teams there which feels weird but right. I always maintain Arsenal are the third biggest club in England but their lack of European success is a big argument against them. I think Dortmund are the only club on the list with just the one European cup/Champions League so I'm not sure about them, though they are a special club. Chelsea were a decent sized club but their history is not that impressive before the takeover in 2003-04. Celtic maybe?
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Maybe Benfica instead of Dortmund? They were in loads of finals, have gigantic domestic following and are frequently in the champions league.
 
HTG said:
Maybe Benfica instead of Dortmund? They were in loads of finals, have gigantic domestic following and are frequently in the champions league.
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Yeah maybe, they have a really rich history and of course the great Eusebio played for them. One more European cup than Dortmund too.

The more I look at it the top 9 at least are pretty much undeniable, it's actually remarkably easy. It's just the 10th spot that is open for debate in my opinion.
 
RedDevilRoshi said:
1. Real
2. Barca
3. United
4. Bayern
5. Pool
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Problem with a top 5 is that it just feels so wrong not to include the great Italian teams, even if their league is a bit diminished these days . The San Siro is like a holy ground for football and Ac milan have the second most European titles I believe.
 
Steve Bruce said:
Hasn't there been questions about there accuracy in recent years because their methodology is outdated? I remember reading something about that a few years ago
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No idea. I researched them at the time and apparently they are the world market leaders, but other than that I know nothing.
 
Irwin99 said:
Problem with a top 5 is that it just feels so wrong not to include the great Italian teams, even if their league is a bit diminished these days . The San Siro is like a holy ground for football and Ac milan have the second most European titles I believe.
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At this point it's hard to justify a spot for them in the Top 5.
  • There's no case to be made in their favor vis-à-vis the Spanish Big 2. Real Madrid has been the gold standard since the instituion of the European Champion Clubs' Cup, and Barcelona is a different beast now as well (Messi, Xaviesta, Guardiola, Cruyff, Ronaldinho, Camp Nou, 5 European Cup titles).
  • English is the de facto global lingua franca, integral to the Anglosphere and the extensive post-colonial network at large, so big English clubs (Manchester United and Liverpool in particular) have an inherent advantage over big Italian clubs in terms of reach, depth of appeal and fan engagement.
  • The richest Serie A club, Juventus, has been borderline Top 10 in terms of revenues, at best, over the last decade or so, and overall revenues for Serie A trail even the Bundesliga now.
  • A lot of the historically significant success was facilitated by Italian “sugar daddies”, which is hard to replicate in this period with the inclusion of nation states and will be hard to replicate in the future, so they might be in terminal decline (relative to the crème de la crème, who have greater spending capabilities and scalability in a sport where spending capability is closely correlated with success).
  • Serie A based players used to dominate individual awards, which added a lot of glitz and glamor to the competition. In the 1980s and 1990s alone you had 12 total Ballon d'Or winners from Serie A (even aside from Maradona, who was ineligible). That is no longer true, and diminishes their appeal.
  • These lists are always a bit biased in favor of clubs that have tasted success in recent times and done well in specific timeframes. For example, since 2010, Bayern Munich has won 2 trebles, reached the Champions League semi-final stage on 7 occasions, almost drawn level with Milan for European Cup titles, consistently posted Top 4-6 revenues in a global sense, and come up leaps and bounds as a recognizable and marketable brand.
There's a harsh reality check for Manchester United in there, too. Even though the club is fueled by an overwhelmingly large fanbase and was very successful, will always boast a immense romantic appeal, was the most crucial component of the Premier League's rise to preeminence (the poster boys, so the speak) and is a beneficiary of perks that are related to being a Premier League club (more money and greater access to global audiences), you can't afford to rest on your laurels in perpetuity in a dynamical environment. Another decade or two of us being also-rans (which further erodes a lot of our advantages) could leave us teetering at the very edge of the Top 5.

The custodians of the club need to wisen up. The Glazers, specifically, need to take the hint and pack up their bags (having overseen much of our modern descent, and having added nothing of value to the club). If not for these utter nincompoops, we could have been sitting pretty, as the closest competitors to Real Madrid, with a handful of European Cups, 25 league titles or so, an expended and refurbished Old Trafford (or a new stadium in its stead when borrowing rates were low), higher revenues that at present, and been more appealing to newer generations of football aficionados (who are increasingly gravitating towards other clubs). They were handed everything on a platter (primarily due to Fergie and his excellence as a club builder), and still managed to screw the pooch. Unbelievable incompetence, pantomime villains.
 
Invictus said:
At this point it's hard to justify a spot for them in the Top 5.
  • There's no case to be made in their favor vis-à-vis the Spanish Big 2. Real Madrid has been the gold standard since the instituion of the European Champion Clubs' Cup, and Barcelona is a different beast now as well (Messi, Xaviesta, Guardiola, Cruyff, Ronaldinho, Camp Nou, 5 European Cup titles).
  • English is the de facto global lingua franca, integral to the Anglosphere and the extensive post-colonial network at large, so big English clubs (Manchester United and Liverpool in particular) have an inherent advantage over big Italian clubs in terms of reach, depth of appeal and fan engagement.
  • The richest Serie A club, Juventus, has been borderline Top 10 in terms of revenues, at best, over the last decade or so, and overall revenues for Serie A trail even the Bundesliga now.
  • A lot of the historically significant success was facilitated by Italian “sugar daddies”, which is hard to replicate in this period with the inclusion of nation states and will be hard to replicate in the future, so they might be in terminal decline (relative to the crème de la crème, who have greater spending capabilities and scalability in a sport where spending capability is closely correlated with success).
  • Serie A based players used to dominate individual awards, which added a lot of glitz and glamor to the competition. In the 1980s and 1990s alone you had 12 total Ballon d'Or winners from Serie A (even aside from Maradona, who was ineligible). That is no longer true, and diminishes their appeal.
  • These lists are always a bit biased in favor of clubs that have tasted success in recent times and done well in specific timeframes. For example, since 2010, Bayern Munich has won 2 trebles, reached the Champions League semi-final stage on 7 occasions, almost drawn level with Milan for European Cup titles, consistently posted Top 4-6 revenues in a global sense, and come up leaps and bounds as a recognizable and marketable brand.
There's a harsh reality check for Manchester United in there, too. Even though the club is fueled by an overwhelmingly large fanbase and was very successful, will always boast a immense romantic appeal, was the most crucial component of the Premier League's rise to preeminence (the poster boys, so the speak) and is a beneficiary of perks that are related to being a Premier League club (more money and greater access to global audiences), you can't afford to rest on your laurels in perpetuity in a dynamical environment. Another decade or two of us being also-rans (which further erodes a lot of our advantages) could leave us teetering at the very edge of the Top 5.

The custodians of the club need to wisen up. The Glazers, specifically, need to take the hint and pack up their bags (having overseen much of our modern descent, and having added nothing of value to the club). If not for these utter nincompoops, we could have been sitting pretty, as the closest competitors to Real Madrid, with a handful of European Cups, 25 league titles or so, an expended and refurbished Old Trafford (or a new stadium in its stead when borrowing rates were low), higher revenues that at present, and been more appealing to newer generations of football aficionados (who are increasingly gravitating towards other clubs). They were handed everything on a platter (primarily due to Fergie and his excellence as a club builder), and still managed to screw the pooch. Unbelievable incompetence, pantomime villains.
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I guess I just view the history of Milan as something you can't ignore no matter how badly they do now or how Serie A has fallen as a brand and although Juventus and Inter (like United) haven't done as well as they should have in Europe, there's still that magic about them and their stadiums- even the colours of the kits are legendary. Compare and contrast the San Siro with that of City's atmosphere against Madrid the other night and there's no need to point out the obvious that Milan are way more special than the oil clubs.

I do see where you're coming from with United though and Milan or Liverpool from the 90s do stand as warnings of how you can mess it up so badly. No way should we have fallen this badly and the owners are responsible.
 
Irwin99 said:
Problem with a top 5 is that it just feels so wrong not to include the great Italian teams, even if their league is a bit diminished these days . The San Siro is like a holy ground for football and Ac milan have the second most European titles I believe.
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Exactly my thought.
My list would be something like this.

1. Real Madrid and not even debatable.
2. Barcelona and pretty much the same.
3. Manchester United just about nicking it for 3rd. In shambles right now, but real powerhouse around the globe.
4. Bayern Munich.
5. AC Milan.
6 - 8. Liverpool, Juventus, Inter
And from then on it's Ajax, Benfica, Porto, Dortmund, Celtic etc.
 
  1. Real Madrid
  2. Barcelona
  3. Manchester United
  4. Bayern Munich
  5. Liverpool
  6. Juventus
  7. AC Milan
  8. Chelsea
  9. PSG
  10. Arsenal

I think it’s hard to argue against this being a top 10, although one can argue a lot about the order. I’ve factored in global support, revenues, history, and current standing, in that order.

I have to say, I’m shocked how often I see people in Spurs shirts here in Canada. Way, way, way, more often than City, but that is not surprising I guess. I don’t think that translates globally though, my impression is that Arsenal are more popular around the world.
 
1-Real Madrid
This should obviously be undisputed. No club comes close to their combination of European dominance, legendary players, and global fanbase , they are the pinnacle of club football.

2- Barcelona
They have the trophies, the legendary players, and the worldwide popularity to comfortably take the number 2 spot.

3- Manchester United
They have the popularity but lack the trophies and legendary players to be ranked above Barcelona.

4- Bayern Munich
They have the history and titles but nowhere near the popularity to be ranked higher.

5- AC Milan
Currently, they are a shadow of their former selves and have been for a long time. They lack recent trophies and their popularity diminished so hard , but there's no denying they are a historic club with many legends and periods of dominance in Europe.
 
Squeaky_Bum_Time said:
  1. Real Madrid
  2. Barcelona
  3. Manchester United
  4. Bayern Munich
  5. Liverpool
  6. Juventus
  7. AC Milan
  8. Chelsea
  9. PSG
  10. Arsenal

I think it’s hard to argue against this being a top 10, although one can argue a lot about the order. I’ve factored in global support, revenues, history, and current standing, in that order.

I have to say, I’m shocked how often I see people in Spurs shirts here in Canada. Way, way, way, more often than City, but that is not surprising I guess. I don’t think that translates globally though, my impression is that Arsenal are more popular around the world.
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PSG don't belong in the top 10. They were founded when the other clubs in the list had already won dozens of trophies and they've never won the CL or even UEFA Cup/Europa League. Is this just based on current popularity? Because then you could just as well include City. Or how about Chelsea, who've won way more?
 
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