Similarweb Traffic League: Who is the Most Popular Football Club in May 2023?

We are excited to present the Similarweb Traffic League, a comprehensive and ongoing report on the top online traffic-generating football clubs in the world. Similarweb Traffic League ranks the leading clubs based on their average monthly global website traffic from mobile and desktop devices between April 2020 to May 2023. 

The stadium is the traditional home of a football club, but it can only accommodate a limited number of fans per game, usually those living nearby or those who can afford to travel from outside the city or country to watch the game. For the majority of global supporters of big clubs who are unable to attend the stadium, the club’s official website serves as a virtual home where they can stay up to date, engage, and shop online. The traffic to these websites is a reliable measure of a club’s popularity and the effectiveness of its digital marketing, such as partnerships, merchandise, localized social media pages and groups, and global tours in emerging football markets.

And the winner is…

Liverpool has been crowned the leading football club in terms of website traffic. This is due to the Reds’ ability to create a connection between their past and present.

During their golden era of the 80s, Liverpool was able to build a large fanbase, which is reflected in their website demographic of slightly older fans, compared to other Premier League powerhouses. The Jürgen Klopp era, where the club won seven titles in eight seasons, has had a positive effect on the long-term success of the club, as it has attracted a younger generation of fans. 

Premier League reigns supreme

For the past three years, six of the ten most popular clubs in terms of website traffic have been from the Premier League. This demonstrates the Premier League’s worldwide popularity and the dedication of its fans both in the UK and abroad. The league’s large revenue from broadcasting deals is then used to fund its digital marketing campaigns on a global scale.

The economic moat of English clubs aligns with their digital dominance. According toDeloitte’s Football Money League 2023 report, 11 out of the 20 richest clubs are all from the Premier League. Two of them have recently relegated to the second division.

Tradition and marketing outweigh sporting success

Although Manchester United and Arsenal have not been as successful in recent years as they were in the 90s and 2000s, they still rank 2nd and 4th respectively in terms of website traffic. These English teams have gained a huge worldwide fanbase and are well-known for their effective marketing tactics. 

Interestingly, only 28% of the traffic to Manchester United’s website originates from the UK, making them the second-lowest on the list in terms of local traffic, with Arsenal just one spot above them. A major increase in United’s average was seen after the signing of Cristiano Ronaldo in August 2021. The Portuguese superstar is the most followed individual on Instagram, and his return to the club he broke through with resulted in 16.7M and 17.6M visits to the website in August and September respectively.

Chelsea and Tottenham, both based in London, the biggest hub in world football, also outperform some of the most successful clubs in Europe in terms of website traffic, despite fluctuating performances and limited recent trophy wins. 

As the traffic share shows, big German clubs are capitalizing mainly on a strong, local fanbase. Dortmund and Bayern Munich rank1st and 3rd in terms of average attendance per home game, and this helps them win online as well. 

New Money clubs struggling to establish their brand

Despite the large investments and title wins in recent years, Manchester City and Paris Saint Germain (PSG), owned by the UAE and Qatar respectively, have yet to significantly expand their fan base.

The English champions, arguably the best team in the world, only rank 8th in website traffic. After spending more than €1.4 billion since the Qatari takeover and signing world-renowned players such as Kylian Mbappe, Leo Messi, and Neymar, PSG is only ranked 10th in website traffic.

In August 2021, the French champions announced the signing of Messi, which caused a surge of 8.6M visitors to their website. Meanwhile, Manchester United’s website experienced 16.7M visitors when they declared the signing of Cristiano Ronaldo late in the same month, tailing to a record-breaking 17.9M visitors in September.

Italy lagging behind

During the 1990s, Italy’s Serie A was seen as the premier level of club football. However, it has been surpassed by other European leagues, with no teams in the top 10 rankings. Even teams with a long history of success, such as Juventus, AC Milan, and Inter, who reached the Champions League final this year, are not as competitive.

Napoli, who won the Serie A title this season after a 33-year drought, has less attention than non-European clubs like Flamengo, Palmeiras, Boca Juniors, and River Plate. A part of Napoli’s charm is its loyal local fanbase and old-school vibe. But if they are to be able to compete with the big clubs for the best players, they’ll have to generate revenue accordingly. Part of that will be gaining fans all over the world. 

Italian football has had a great year in UEFA tournaments, with teams making it to the finals of all three continental club competitions. To gain more loyalty from fans and a larger global following, however, Italian clubs need to maintain their success over a longer period of time. 

Luckily for Manchester City and Inter, who will tussle on Saturday in Istanbul, the title of European Champions will be delivered for performance on the pitch, and not in the digital playing field. The final whistle to their showdown will mark the end of the 2022/23 season. The arms race also known as the summer transfer window is already in place, with clubs hoping to build a strong team that will inspire their fans to dream, and pay frequent visits to their website, among other things. We will see the result of the actions taken over the next couple of months throughout the 2023/24 season.