While football has always been a global game, the rise of social media has seen teams grow their followings like never before. They’ve become more accessible than ever, with fans from all over the world able to interact with them online, no matter where they are. Premier League clubs in particular have become worldwide franchises.

Even the likes of West Ham United have nearly 20m followers across social media, highlighting how the emergence of sites such as Instagram and X (Twitter) have helped teams become bigger and more popular than ever. Now, a fascinating study from Football Observatory has revealed the 16 English teams with the biggest followings across all social media platforms.

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16-11

Including the likes of Crystal Palace and Leeds United

Newly promoted Leeds United are the first team on the list, squeaking in at 16th with 6.4m followers across all social media platforms. The club spent the last two seasons in the Championship, but now they’re in the top flight once again, they could see their following grow even more going forward. Just ahead of them is Crystal Palace and Southampton with a total of 7.6m and 7.9m respectively.

Palace’s rivals Brighton & Hove Albion (9.7m), Wolverhampton Wanders (12m) and Everton (14.5m) are the final three sides included in this section. Of the six sides in this section, though, no team has seen a bigger increase in their following over the last year than Palace. The Eagles won their first ever major trophy in May 2025, lifting the FA Cup and their social media following has seen an increase of 15% over the last 12 months.

10-6

Tottenham Hotspur feature here

Breaking into the top 10, Newcastle United are up first. The Magpies, like Palace, won silverware this season. Eddie Howe’s men lifted the Carabao Cup, ending a decades-long trophy draught. The club have gone from strength to strength following Mike Ashley’s sale of the club to the Saudi Public Investment Fund and they have 17.2m followers across all social media channels. They aren’t the only team who have seen a significant improvement in recent years and earned a sizeable following as a result, though.

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Aston Villa have been transformed under Unai Emery and are now firmly entrenched among the Premier League’s top teams. They competed in the Champions League last time out and will take part in the Europa League next season. It’s vastly different from the struggles in the Championship just a handful of seasons ago.

They have 18.8m followers across all social media platforms, with West Ham United (19.1m) narrowly beating them out. The former’s following has risen by 13.2% over the last 12 months, however, compared to the latter’s growth of just 4.9%. As a result, it wouldn’t be too surprising to see Villa overtake their fellow claret and blue-covered side in the future.

The final two teams just outside of the top five are Leicester City and Tottenham Hotspur. Despite falling into the Championship, the Foxes have 24.5m followers across all social media, while Spurs (108.1m) miss out on the top five by just 6m.

5-1

Manchester United lead the way

The first team in the top five is Arsenal. The Gunners have finished as runners-up in the Premier League on three straight occasions and haven’t lifted the trophy since 2004. They’re also the only team in the top five to never lift the Champions League. As a result, it’s hardly surprising to see the Gunners come fifth with 114.1m followers across all platforms.

There’s a sizeable jump next to fourth place and ahead of them is London rivals Chelsea, who have 152.9m social media followers in total. The Blues have won two Champions League trophies over the last 15 years and have seen their status in football grow exponentially during the 21st century. With five Premier League titles under their belt too, Chelsea have become one of the biggest clubs in not just England, but the world.

Over 14m ahead of them, though, is Liverpool. After a period of struggle, the Reds transformed into one of the best teams in England again under Jurgen Klopp. The Germany rejuvenated the side and led them back to the Champions League trophy and their first ever Premier League title. His exit threatened undoing all the work they’d done, but Arne Slot came in and took them straight to the peak of English football. They are one of the most decorated football teams in the country and have 166.7m followers across all social media platforms, making them the third-most-followed side in England.

Surprisingly, Manchester City are one place above Liverpool, with 179.5m social media followers. Pep Guardiola’s side became one of the most dominant teams in the history of English football following the former Barcelona manager’s arrival and that form has seen them become one of the most followed teams in the country. They’ve got a long way to go before they catch up to their local rivals, though. Manchester United, despite all their struggles lately, are by far the most followed team in England, with 233.6m social media followers.

The Red Devils are coming off of their worst ever Premier League campaign, finishing 15th in the table, but fans are still flocking to follow them on social media platforms. In fact, they’re the third-most followed team in the world, only behind Real Madrid (473.7m) and Barcelona (427.4m) and there’s no shame in that.

All statistics courtesy of Football Observatory and accurate as of 13/06/2025