Real Madrid, one of the world’s most acclaimed football clubs, continues to fortify its dominance on the European stage with its recent victory in the UEFA Super Cup on August 14th. The match marked the debut of Kylian Mbappé—whose 153M social media followers make him the most followed football player across the Big Five—as a superstar member of the LALIGA title holders. Here’s a quick look at how the club’s strategic partnerships and social media presence impact its influence—a key focus of our recently released European Football Marketing Partnerships 2023–24 report.

While the club ranks 15 out of the 20 LALIGA teams by number of deals with 45, Real Madrid's strength in the marketing arena remains unmatched. Its sponsorship portfolio includes blue-chip brands like adidas, Emirates, and HP. The club added 54M followers on social media last season (more than any other European club) and also scored total branded engagement of 291M (three times that of second-place Manchester City). The club’s most engaging post of the season—on Instagram in partnership with Emirates—garnered an impressive 3.7M total interactions. Notably, Emirates accounts for 31% of Real Madrid’s total social engagement.

Real Madrid’s top players are winning on the pitch while becoming marketing powerhouses off of it. With 17 deals, Vinicius Junior is second only to free agent Guillermo Ochoa (in terms of number of partnerships). Meanwhile, Jude Bellingham, who has quickly become a fan favorite since joining Real Madrid in June 2023, leads as the most engaging football player on social media. He has total branded engagement of 127M (which also tops that of every other club except Real Madrid).

Both Bellingham and Vinicius Junior rank among the top five football players with the highest social media follower growth this past season, alongside their teammates Kylian Mbappé and Eduardo Camavinga. Manchester City’s Erling Haaland takes first place with an increase of 23M, while Bellingham trails closely behind (+20.5M), followed by Vinicius (+16.3M), Mbappé (+13.9M), and Camavinga (+12.1M).