The 2024/25 Champions League gets underway on Tuesday night and it promises to be one of the most exciting competitions in years.
Defending champions Real Madrid have added Kylian Mbappe and Endrick to their team as they look to win a record-extending 16th European Cup, but they will face a stiff test from Premier League trio Manchester City, Arsenal and Liverpool, who all have designs on the trophy.
Perennial contenders Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich are all among the bookmakers favourites to be there at the final in Munich next year, while Juventus, Atalanta and both of the Milan teams lead the Italian charge, as Serie A looks to end a 15 year wait for a winner.
The GENIUS Way Arsenal Just Beat Tottenham Without Their Midfield
We will also see the competitions new format in play for the first time, after UEFA scrapped the tried and tested group stage for a new league phase, which sees all 36 teams put together into one league table, with each side playing eight matches against eight different teams. The top eight teams will qualify for the last 16, with the teams finishing between ninth and 24th entering a play-off round to determine the remaining eight knockout places.
That means were set for the biggest edition of the competition yet and the format arguably favours the biggest teams - but who exactly are the biggest sides?
This is an argument that weve all had in the pub, but now Sportingpedia have looked to settle it, as they have produced a report that reveals just how many followers each team has on social media.
With numbers taken from official accounts on X, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok, the report shows that Real Madrid are comfortably at the top of the pile with a combined 392.1million followers. Barcelona are the only other team with more than 300million followers (329.6million), while Manchester City are the first Premier League team to appear on the list in fifth place with just over 150million followers.
In fact, City, Liverpool and Arsenal combined have fewer followers that Real Madrid. at the bottom of the pile, Sparta and Slavia Prague, Young Boys, Slovan Bratislava and Sturm Graz all have fewer than one million followers.
- Real Madrid - 392.1m
- Barcelona - 329.6m
- Paris Saint-Germain - 173.6m
- Juventus - 152.8m
- Manchester City - 150.2m
- Liverpool - 138.7m
- Bayern Munich - 130.7m
- Arsenal - 102.7m
- Milan - 69.3m
- Atletico Madrid - 62.3m
- Inter - 61.6m
- Borussia Dortmund - 52.3m
- Monaco - 20.1m
- Aston Villa - 15.9m
- Bayer Leverkusen - 14m
More Champions League stories
Champions League power ranking: The odds for Europe, as Premier League heavyweights look to dethrone Real Madrid
Ranked! The 20 best cult Champions League sides ever
Line-up quiz! Can you name the AC Milan line-up from their 2005 Champions League final loss to Liverpool?
