Real Madrid should have been higher in the FanSided 250

Real Madrid did not crack the top three among football fanbases in the FanSided 250, and that’s a mistake.

I can’t lie to you. So far in the 2020-2021 season, Real Madrid have not been at their best. This team is outside the top three in their own league and facing a must-win match in their final Champions League group stage game, otherwise they will be in the Europa League and looking for a new manager.

Yet Madridistas have not wavered in their support of the club. They remain steadfastly supporting the team, even as the results and quality of play on the pitch continue to disappoint.

In the latest FanSided 250 rankings, Real Madrid placed 52nd overall and fifth among football fanbases. For a club that prides themselves on being the best, anything lower than first is a disappointment, though expectations have been tempered amidst the current “rebuild”.

I can understand Bayern Munich being ranked first, since the FanSided 250 is based on the hottest brands. Die Roten won the treble and are flying high. They are first in their league and remain the team to beat in European competition.

Liverpool in second is potentially worth squabbling over, but it’s hard to argue against the Reds’ dedicated fanbase or their recent success under Jurgen Klopp. With a Champions League title and Premier League title in back-to-back years, Liverpool have found success that Real Madrid admittedly have not since Cristiano Ronaldo’s departure.

But it is shocking to see Real Madrid ranked behind PSG and Barcelona. PSG’s fanbase is paltry in comparison to Real’s, and FanSided’s social follows and search score statistics make that clear. PSG has 74.1 million social follows, while Real have 215 million. So PSG aren’t even in the same league as Los Blancos!

At least Barcelona can make it a contest, because they have more social follows and a higher search score. But how can they be ranked above Real Madrid when their team is in an even worse situation than Los Blancos with essentially similar fan-following statistics, which are skewed by Lionel Messi’s following (the same can be said for Cristiano Ronaldo and his influence on Juventus’ social numbers). Barcelona lost to Real twice in Clasicos this year and aren’t even in a Champions League place in their own league.

Real vs. Barcelona is a loaded topic that will lead to many arguments, but, at the very least, I think we can all agree, looking at the data, that Real Madrid have a more impressive fanbase than PSG. So Los Blancos should be rated higher than 52, perhaps into the top 50 and ahead of PSG. I would have them in the top three of football clubs and in the top 25 overall.