Champions League win boosts Liverpool fan base

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The largest increase in support across the five biggest European football markets has been enjoyed by UEFA Champions League winners Liverpool, according to SPORT MARKT’s biennial analysis of the European football market place.

Liverpool’s success in Istanbul in May reportedly won them over 10 million new fans, making them the third most popular team in Europe. The Reds’ support in Spain and Germany more than quadrupled in six months, in Italy it more than trebled. Now almost 18 million fans aged 15-69 in the UK, France, Germany, Italy and Spain declare themselves Liverpool supporters. Premier League champions Chelsea also saw their support climb significantly and now register almost 10 million fans across the key European markets.

Their support outside of the UK has doubled in the last six months. Fellow Premier League clubs Arsenal and Manchester United, meanwhile, have seen support across Europe drop. It also appears that Liverpool has taken over the affections of Spanish fans from their rival English clubs, as Arsenal's support in the country fell by more than half, while Manchester United's fell by one-third. These two clubs lost around 5 million fans each compared to November and United fell from second to sixth in the rankings.