Considering the popularity of football clubs, it won’t be an exaggeration to say that fans are more associated with clubs than national teams. The history of football clubs can be traced to the mid-19th century when the game became an organized mainstream sport.
Right from the beginning, football has been a popular sport and for this reason, it evolved into an organized mainstream sport. Soon, people started following the clubs; today, some families have been supporting clubs for generations.
Football clubs play for their fans and followers. They want to become one of the most popular clubs by winning matches and adding more followers. Every country has football clubs and according to FIFA’s Professional Football Report 2019, there could be over 4,000 football clubs across the globe.
A football club is known by the number of its followers and the awards and recognitions it has earned since its inception. Considering these factors, you can prepare a list of the top football clubs in the world.
10. Arsenal
🥁 Introducing our April Player of the Month…
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) May 18, 2023
🥇 Martin Odegaard
🥈 @gabimartinelli
🥉 @ben6white
Congratulations to our captain 🙌
Founded: October 1886 in Islington, London as Dial Square
Nickname: The Gunners
Achievements: 16 FA Community Shields; a record 14 FA Cups; 13 league titles
Following: 26.3M Instagram
This 136-year-old football club has a huge fan following both on the ground and on social media. Its fans are called “Gooners” and they never miss any game. In 2007-08, Arsenal recorded the second-highest average attendance (99.5% of available capacity) in a league match for an English club. But it went down to the third-highest in 2015.
9. Juventus
⚪️⚫️ Spotted in Seville 👋🇪🇸 pic.twitter.com/cEP0zDPGuv
— JuventusFC 🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@juventusfcen) May 18, 2023
Founded: 1 November 1897 in Turin, Piedmont, Italy as Sport-Club Juventus
Common Name: Juve
Nickname: The Old Lady; The Girlfriend of Italy; La Madam; The White and Blacks; The Zebras; The Killer Lady; The Hunchback
Achievements: 36 official league titles; 14 Coppa Italia titles; 9 Supercoppa titles; 2 international cups
Following: 60M Instagram
With over 12 million fans, Juventus is the most popular football club in Italy. Also, it is one of the most supported football clubs in the world. Its global following is over 300 million. Also, Juventus is credited for supplying most players to the Italian football team.
8. Paris Saint Germain
Congratulations to our Parisians nominated for the @UNFP Trophies, season 22-23! 👏
— Paris Saint-Germain (@PSG_English) May 16, 2023
▫️ Best Player @KMbappe – 𝗟𝗲𝗼 𝗠𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶
▫️ Young Player @nunomendes_25
▫️ Best Goalkeeper @donnarumma
🏆 #TropheesUNFP
Founded: 12 August 1970 in Paris, France
Common Name: PSG; Paris; Paris SG
Nickname: The Parisians; The Red-and-Blues
Achievements: 10 league titles; One major European trophy
Following: 70M Instagram
With over 47 official honors, Paris Saint Germain is called the most successful club in France. The honors include winning all four national titles in a single season four times. This feat is called domestic quadruple. Recently it beat AC Ajaccio in French League 1 match with a 5-0 score. The Brazilian footballer Neymar also plays for this club.
7. Manchester City
#UCL FINALISTS! 💙 pic.twitter.com/UzAjYB63xN
— Manchester City (@ManCity) May 17, 2023
Founded: 1880 as St. Mark’s in West Gorton, England
Common Name: Man City; City
Nickname: The Cityzens; The Sky Blues
Achievements: 8 league titles; 8 league cups; 6 FA Cups; 6 FA Community Shields; 1 European Cup Winners’ Cup
Following: 43.2M Instagram
Man City has a rich history of 143 years from its beginning to changing names and to winning accolades. It started in 1880 as St. Mark’s but changed to Ardwick Association F.C. in 1887 and finally to Manchester City on 16 April 1894. In 2015, City has a following of 886,000 in the United Kingdom and 2 million in the globe.
6. Chelsea Football Club
Chilly and Reece at it. 💪 pic.twitter.com/Z59dILKLfr
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) May 17, 2023
Founded: 10 March 1905 in Fulham, West London
Nickname: The Blues
Achievements: Club World Cup in 2021; 8 FA Cups; 5 League Cups; 4 FA Community Shields
Following: 39.9M Instagram
One of the most followed football clubs in the world, Chelsea has won many awards and accolades at domestic as well as international levels. In terms of winning, Chelsea ranks fourth in English football. It has been a two-time winner of the UEFA Champions League, the UEFA Europa League, the UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup, and the UEFA Super Cup.
5. Liverpool F.C.
“Of course, I still try to get involved in attacks, I still want to overlap my winger and things like that but I just need to pick and choose my moments.” 👇
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) May 18, 2023
Founded: 3 June 1892 in Liverpool, England
Nickname: The Reds
Achievements: 19 League titles; 16 FA Community Shields; 9 League Cups; 8 FA Cups
Following: 42.2M Instagram
Liverpool was a major force in the 1970s and 1980s when the club won a combined 11 league titles and four European cups. It has 200 officially recognized Supporter Clubs across the globe. One of the most supported football clubs in the world, Liverpool has never finished lower than 8th position since 1963.
4. FC Bayern Munich
𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘍𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘳 𝘪𝘴 𝘓𝘢𝘷𝘢 ♨️
— FC Bayern Munich (@FCBayernEN) May 17, 2023
See how the boys did in our newest training game 📹#MiaSanMia
Founded: 27 February 1900 in Munich, Bavaria, Germany
Nickname: The FCB; The Bavarians; Star of the South; The Reds; FC Hollywood
Achievements: 32 national titles; 20 national cups
Following: 38.7M Instagram
The FCB has won 10 consecutive national titles since 2013. Also, it is a two-time winner of the FIFA Club World Cup and International Cup. FC Hollywood boasts an amazing squad with five Ballon d’Or awards and four European Golden Shoe awards.
3. Manchester United F.C.
🚨 It’s time to cast your vote…
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) May 16, 2023
The poll for the 2022/23 Sir Matt Busby Player of the Year is officially OPEN! 🗳️#MUFC
Founded: 1878 as Newton Heath LYR F.C. in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England
Common Name: Man United; Man Utd; Man U
Nickname: The Red Devils; United
Achievements: 21 FA Community Shields; 20 League titles; 12 FA Cups; 6 League Cup
Following: 61.7M Instagram
The United has over 75 million fans worldwide and it ranks third in social media following Barcelona and Real Madrid. Man United is the three times champion of the European Cup/UEFA Champions League. The club won a maximum of 35 trophies under Sir Alex Ferguson who was the longest-serving and most successful manager of the club.
2. FC Barcelona
LA LIGA CHAMP🏆ONS! pic.twitter.com/enrozFf9gs
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) May 14, 2023
Founded: 29 November 1899 as Foot-Ball Club Barcelona in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
Nickname: Barça or Blaugrana; Culers or Barcelonistes; Blaugranes or Azulgranas
Achievements: 31 Copa del Rey; 27 La Liga; 14 Supercopa de Espana
Following: 121M Instagram
FC Barcelona is the fourth richest football club in the world. Also, it is one of the most popular footballer clubs in the world. In 2022, it has 1,264 officially recognized fan clubs across the globe. It even rewards its fans for promoting the club in their localities.
1. Real Madrid
🏆 #OTD in 1980, we won our 20th @LaLigaEN title.#RealFootball pic.twitter.com/MkJLwbzkd2
— Real Madrid C.F. 🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@realmadriden) May 18, 2023
Founded: 6 March 1902 as Madrid Football Club in Madrid, Spain
Nickname: The Whites; The Meringues; The Vikings; The White House
Achievements: 35 La Liga titles; 20 Copa del Rey; 12 Supercopa de España
Following: 139M Instagram
Real Madrid has the credit of winning a record number of 21 trophies in European football. Also, the International Federation of Football History & Statistics Club World Ranking ranked Real Madrid second in 2000, 2002, 2014, and 2017.
