GESM Club Team Rankings
Mike Koeshartanto

Most Popular Soccer Teams in the U.S.

In a long-awaited follow-up to a 2016 rundown of America’s favorite soccer clubs, we’ve crunched some numbers, run a few surveys, updated the data, and are excited to unveil a new list of the most popular soccer clubs according to U.S. fans.


The title says it all. If you’ve found your way to this post, surely you’re excited to see where your team ranks among the most popular soccer teams in the U.S. Before we jump into the results, let’s cover a few basics.

First off, you shouldn’t be surprised by the teams at the top. In your head you should already know this… some combination of Barcelona, Real Madrid, and Manchester United will sit atop the podium. They have history. They have star players. They have success.

Second, let’s talk methodology, quickly. For the purposes of our most recent rankings we included seven leagues:

  • MLS
  • Liga MX
  • Premier League
  • LaLiga
  • Bundesliga
  • Serie A
  • Ligue 1

Four years ago we relied solely on survey data. For our next iteration, we’ve pulled in a variety of other sources to tell a more holistic story. All 142 teams from the seven leagues were given a ranking based on a combination of 2020 survey data, Google Trends results, and Facebook advertising reach.

What are the most popular soccer teams in the U.S.?

Drum roll, please…

GESM Favorite Club Teams 2020

 

There you have it, folks – Barcelona, Real Madrid, and Manchester United in the top three positions. The most interesting insights occur in the rankings that follow the big three. Thanks to their recent success, Liverpool, who notably have always been popular stateside, are the fourth most-popular club.

Unsurprisingly, Premier League teams make up 60 percent of the top 10 with La Liga (2) and Liga MX (1) rounding out the other positions. Despite their lack of recent success (Zlatan marketing notwithstanding), the LA Galaxy remain the most popular domestic team.

For additional insight into each club’s rankings please shoot us a note, but one thing worth noting is this – there appear to be, at least as of now, three tiers of clubs based on the data.

  • Tier 1: Barcelona, Real Madrid, Manchester United, Liverpool
  • Tier 2: Chelsea, Arsenal, Juventus
  • Tier 3: Everyone else

Categories: Research