With global fan bases more important to big clubs than ever before — as well as the revenue streams in lucrative foreign markets they bring, of course — Europe’s superpowers are all striving to rule the world.
Liverpool recently announced the welcome addition of 18 new official supporters’ clubs dotted around the globe and there are now pockets of assembled Reds fans located in countries as diverse as the United States, Montenegro, Canada, Tanzania, China, Malaysia, Costa Rica and the Maldives — all thousands of miles from Anfield.
But which top club can truly claim world domination? ESPN FC has crunched the numbers in order to ascertain which of Europe’s “elite” teams has the most supporters’ clubs around the world.
The list is of those groups, at home and abroad, that are officially recognised and listed by their relevant club.
The results might surprise you…