10 Football Teams With the Most Instagram Followers (2024)

The way that football fans interact with their favourite team has changed drastically in recent years. As recently as the early 2000s, one of the most common ways people found out the latest news about their team was through Teletext. ClubCall was also introduced in the 1980s, where fans could ring up to find out the latest transfer information and team news.

Times have certainly changed with the growth of the internet and the popularity of social media platforms, such as X, Facebook and Instagram. While social media offers easy access to news and the ability for clubs to interact with their fans, it also has downsides, such as the abhorrent abuse that players often receive.

Instagram was launched in 2010 and is a platform used for uploading photos and videos to your followers. Teams have found it a useful channel to share content with their supporters. While not everybody who follows a sports team on a platform is necessarily a fan, the numbers do give an indication as to how popular a team is. In this list, we look at the 10 most followed football teams on Instagram.

10 Arsenal

Premier League

The Gunners had their golden era in the Premier League before Instagram existed, with their three Premier League crowns coming in 1998, 2002 and 2004. Although the club endured some difficult times after the move to the Emirates Stadium in 2006, the north London outfit now look like a real force under the guidance of Mikel Arteta.

Arsenal are back in contention for major honours, and playing an attractive style of football under Arteta. The club has worked hard to improve its popularity in recent years, not only on the pitch. They were the focus of the ‘All or Nothing’ documentary series for the 2021-22 campaign, which gave an inside look into the club and particularly some of Arteta’s team talks.

9 Chelsea

Premier League

Chelsea peaked at the perfect time to grow their social media presence. With Roman Abramovich’s heavy investment, the Blues became serial winners. When Instagram was launched in 2010, Chelsea were the defending Premier League champions. Two years later, they won the Champions League for the first time in their history. During Abramovich’s 19-year spell as owner, the club won 21 trophies.

Success often brings with it a good following, and Chelsea currently have 42.2 million followers on Instagram. After some disappointing seasons recently, the Blues have started well under new manager Enzo Maresca. Chelsea’s official account has managed to steer clear of any controversy over the years on the platform. However, the same can’t be said for some of their players.

8 Bayern Munich

Bundesliga

Germany’s most successful club, Bayern won 11 Bundesliga titles in a row between 2012-13 and 2022-23. Their dominance in Germany over the years has attracted some of the world’s best players to join the club, with the likes of Harry Kane and Leroy Sane currently playing there. As well as that, top managers like Pep Guardiola, Carlo Ancelotti and Thomas Tuchel have all been in charge at the club within the past decade.

Bayern have also been triumphant in Europe, winning the European Cup six times in their history – most recently in 2020. The club have a huge following on Instagram, with 42.5 million followers. The signings of Kim Min-jae and Hiroki Ito will have increased their appeal in Asia too. The club already have fan clubs set up in their respective native countries of South Korea and Japan.

7 Liverpool

Premier League

Liverpool are one of the most well-supported teams in the world due to decades of tradition and history at the club. Although the Reds had to wait 30 years to win their first Premier League title, the club won 18 top-flight crowns in the 20th century.

They are the most successful British side in Europe, having lifted the European Cup six times in their history, as well as the UEFA Cup three times and four UEFA Super Cups too. They have had some of the finest managers and players in the history of the game throughout each generation. Jurgen Klopp helped bring the good times back to Anfield and delivered the long-awaited Premier League title in 2020, just one of the eight major honours he lifted at the club.

Klopp also signed several top players during his time at Anfield, including one of the most followed footballers on Instagram in Mohamed Salah. This all adds to the appeal of the club, with the Reds having 45.8 million followers on Instagram. The future looks bright too, despite Klopp leaving in 2024, Liverpool have started well under new manager Arne Slot.

6 Manchester City

Premier League

Manchester City have emerged as a powerhouse in football over the past two decades. For many years, City were the “other team” in Manchester. Local rivals Manchester United won trophies almost every year, while the Citizens sometimes weren’t even playing in the top flight.

Their luck changed in 2008 when the club was bought by Abu Dhabi United Group, backed by the wealth of Sheikh Mansour. After hitting the jackpot off the pitch, City gradually developed a team capable of winning multiple trophies every season. It started with the FA Cup win over Stoke City in 2011, and by the end of the following season, they were champions of England.

The iconic title-winning goal from Sergio Aguero was a highlight during City’s early success under the new owners. Since the arrival of Pep Guardiola as manager in 2016, Manchester City have lifted six out of the eight Premier League titles available. After many years of trying, City finally lifted the Champions League in 2023, as part of a historic treble. With 54.7 million followers on Instagram, the club is beginning to build a fanbase across the globe.

5 Juventus

Serie A

‘The Old Lady’ of Italian football, Juventus have won the most trophies in Italy by some distance. As with Bayern, Juventus enjoyed a particularly dominant period shortly after Instagram launched, with nine consecutive Serie A titles between 2011-12 and 2019-20. During this time, they also finished runners-up in the Champions League in 2015 and 2017.

Some of the world’s best players have donned the famous black and white stripes, including Cristiano Ronaldo between 2018 and 2021. Juventus are well-supported across the globe, and unlike a lot of other Italian clubs, their appeal stretches beyond just their home city of Turin.

There have been dark moments throughout their recent history, including being relegated to Serie B and stripped of their titles in 2005 and 2006 as part of the ‘Calciopoli’ scandal. Despite this, the club has bounced back and remains popular worldwide. Juventus have 60.4 million followers on Instagram and are the only Italian club on the list.

4 Paris Saint-Germain

Ligue 1

Another club that has been backed by the riches of foreign owners in the Instagram era, Paris Saint-Germain were taken over by Qatar Sports Investments in 2011. In their 13 years at the club, a number of star names, such as Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Lionel Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe have all played for the club.

As many as 10 of the 12 league titles the club have won have been since the Qatari takeover, but PSG have built a very marketable brand off the pitch too. Their collaboration with Nike and their Jordan brand has helped to boost merchandise sales beyond what most clubs are capable of. The appeal of playing in one of the world’s most famous cities also helps, as they sit fourth on the list with 63.6 million followers on Instagram.

3 Manchester United

Premier League

Manchester United’s success on the pitch throughout Sir Alex Ferguson’s 27 years at the club won the support of many fans from across the globe. United dominated in the early years of the Premier League, winning 13 titles between 1993 and 2013. This helped overtake rivals Liverpool for the number of overall league titles won – with United one ahead on 20 top-flight triumphs.

United were ahead of the game when it came to marketing and commercial appeal, regularly playing matches abroad in pre-season to increase their popularity in different regions of the world before it became common. This, along with decades of winning on the pitch with star players, has helped the club become the third-most followed team on Instagram with 64.2 million followers.

2 FC Barcelona

La Liga

‘Mes Que Un Club’ or ‘More Than a Club’ is Barcelona’s club motto. FC Barcelona is a symbol of Catalonia, the region they represent. Many people fell in love with the tiki-taka brand of football played at Barcelona under Pep Guardiola, as Lionel Messi developed into one of the best players of all-time.

A club with a proud tradition of producing top talents, Xavi, Andres Iniesta and Carles Puyol are just a few examples of players to have come from the famous ‘La Masia’ academy. Barcelona are another team that have won many trophies since Instagram launched. Seven league titles and two Champions League crowns are just some of the honours won during that time. Barcelona have the second-highest number of followers on Instagram, with 129 million.

1 Real Madrid

La Liga

Real Madrid are the most decorated club in both Spanish and European football. Their 15 European Cups are a record, as are the club’s 36 top-flight titles won in Spain.

The capital outfit has had superstar players across every generation. From Ferenc Puskas and Alfredo Di Stefano in the 1950s and ’60s, to modern-day Real Madrid with Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Junior, star players always find a home in Madrid. The ‘Galacticos’ era at the club saw a whole team filled with talent, including David Beckham, Luis Figo and Ronaldo, and increased the appeal of the club worldwide. Like Manchester United, Real Madrid weren’t afraid to test out other markets, such as Asia, to increase their commercial appeal.

Statistics in this article via Instagram. Correct as of 30-09-2024.