Barcelona the most popular online club in China from Red Card report findings

Liam Watson

Barcelona has overtaken fellow La Liga powerhouse Real Madrid to become China’s most popular soccer club online, based off Mailman’s 2020 Red Card report.

In Mailman’s 2020 rankings, it shows that Barcelona have risen significantly from fifth to first place since last year, mainly due off the back of their impressive growth on Chinese social media.

The club’s followers on Chinese social media platform Weibo went up from eight million to 16.3 million, a massive 104 per cent jump. In turn Barcelona improved on it’s engagement through Weibo, trending up 45 per cent from their 2018 efforts.

The club also gained huge exposure on short form video platform Douyin, with Lionel Messi’s penalty pass to Luis Suarez ranking as the fourth most watched video last year, accumulating 64 million views and 2.3 million engagements.

“[The award is] a testament to the effort, teamwork and innovation of all of those involved with FC Barcelona in China,” said Barcelona Board Member Didac Lee.

“Our challenge is to create content for China that is bespoke to the ever-evolving digital landscape, culture and habits of this market and we’re proud to be recognised for outstanding fan growth and engagement.”

In English Premier League standings, Chelsea are the most popular club from England and sit third in Mailman’s rankings overall.

There are two more Premier League outfits in the top five, with Manchester City and Manchester United in fourth and joint fifth alongside Juventus respectively.

City went up from ninth place in 2019 to leapfrog rivals United this year, while Liverpool are seventh, dropping down a single place.

The Premier League itself is the most popular competition with China’s digital community, ahead of the LaLiga which overtook the Bundesliga to claim second place. The German top-tier sits third, recording its lowest ever ranking.

“To receive this Red Card award for the second year running is a great honour and testament to the Premier League and our clubs’ loyal fanbase in China,” said Premier League Chief Executive Richard Masters.

“We witnessed their passionate support during last year’s successful Premier League Asia Trophy in Nanjing and Shanghai, something that has been reflected by the growing popularity of our digital coverage in the country.”

Cristiano Ronaldo is the most popular player with China’s digital soccer fans according to Mailman, ahead of Neymar and Lionel Messi respectively.

It’s the second consecutive year that Ronaldo has topped the poll, being one of the few players to see increased engagement and followers on Weibo despite a decrease in soccer-related user activity on the platform. Neymar found himself the most followed player on rival platform Douyin.

“I am very pleased with this award. I know that I have a huge part of fans in China and it means a lot to be on top of the table for the second year in a row,” said Ronaldo.

Chinese fans have contributed many commercial opportunities for European soccer clubs, with an estimated AUD$98.9 million of digital sponsorship revenue still on the table, according to Mailman.

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Off the Pitch Podcast: Manny Spanoudakis on Cisco Systems

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Image credit: St George City

In episode seven of Soccerscene’s Off the Pitch podcast, St George City FA Head Coach and Regional General Manager at Cisco Manny Spanoudakis joins the show to talk about his role at Cisco, as well as his experience and philosophy in coaching.

As the Regional General Manager for the Sports & Entertainment Solutions Group at Cisco, Spanoudakis is responsible for developing, leading and executing strategy in the Asia Pacific, Japan and China region.

Cisco is a global tech leader that’s helping organisations stay connected and secure in today’s AI-driven world.

For over 40 years, Cisco has played a key role in safely connecting people and businesses around the globe.

Spanoudakis spoke about his experience working on a range of stadiums and venues across Australia as a part of his role at the company.

“I guess if we just focus on the Australian market, there’s been an abundance of projects we’ve been very fortunate to have great success with,” he said on the podcast.

“If I start in Perth, I guess, and work my way east off the stadium is a major project, then we’re just doing a major refresh there after the original opening in 2018, Adelaide Oval, another major customer of ours.

“The Melbourne Cricket Ground just underwent significant and is still undergoing significant technology upgrades, it’s a project and a customer we’ve worked on for well over a decade.

“Marvel Stadium, the Melbourne Olympic Park precinct, the VRC in Flemington, Kardinia Park and GMHBA Stadium and Melbourne Racing Club, so there’s a very strong, we have a very strong customer base in Melbourne.”

Although his role as Regional General Manager at Cisco keeps him busy, Spanoudakis still finds time to pursue coaching and currently serves as the head coach at St George City FA.

Spanoudakis reflected on his early start in coaching—once the youngest coach in the league—and explained how his philosophy was deeply influenced by his upbringing and his father’s passion for football.

“When I transitioned into coaching, I was still relatively young,” he continued to say.

“It’s funny because I was talking to someone the other day that when I started coaching first grade in the NPL, NPL 1, I guess, or whatever the equivalent is in Victoria, the NPL, I was the youngest coach in the league in 2001 and now I think I’m the oldest coach in the league.

“But my coaching philosophy and my principles were very much shaped by my upbringing.

“I listened to Ange and people of my generation talk about the influence parents and fathers had and my dad was a footballer, was a very, very knowledgeable student of the game, so that shaped my upbringing.”

To learn more about his role at Cisco, listen to the full interview with Manny Spanoudakis on episode seven of Soccerscene’s Off the Pitch Podcast – available on all major podcasting apps.

AFC Youth Online Session Champions Emotional Wellbeing

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Image Credit: AFC

The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has reaffirmed its strong commitment to the success of Asian teams with the delivery of the AFC Youth Online Session 2025, held on Thursday.

Nearly 120 participants from 41 Member Associations (MAs) took part in the session, which kicked off with an update on the highly regarded AFC Elite Youth Scheme—currently endorsed by 27 member nations.

Chaired by AFC Technical Director Andy Roxburgh, the virtual session delved into two key focus areas: supporting academies and youth coaches in developing and managing talented young footballers, and strengthening elite youth development programs across the region.

Following Australia’s victory at the AFC U20 Asian Cup™ China 2025 earlier this year, the session also included a special discussion with Trevor Morgan, Head Coach of the championship-winning squad. Morgan offered valuable insights into the team’s journey to success, touching on everything from his coaching philosophy to the preparation and planning that led up to the tournament.

“My mantra is always to instill a mentality among youngsters where they’re not scared to make positive mistakes and not be punished for it,” he said via press release.

“We always encourage the players to play an open game and be unpredictable, which worked out well for Australia as the team scored in a variety of ways and did not just depend on set pieces.”

With the Young Socceroos also taking out the tournament’s Fair Play Award, Morgan spoke further on key topics such as player discipline, building team unity, adapting communication to better connect with younger players, and managing the emotional pressures of high-stakes competition.

Morgan’s session paved the way for the next speaker, Aspire Academy’s Maria Ruiz de Ona, who emphasised the importance of youth coaches developing emotional intelligence, empathy, and effective communication skills.

Building on these points, the Qatar Football Association’s Fahad Abdulla Al Zarraa stressed the importance of embedding emotional intelligence into coach education programs to foster stronger, more positive player-coach relationships. The evening concluded with an engaging Q&A session, where participants actively shared questions and reflections.

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