FC Barcelona falls out of the top 20, but why?

Barcelona loses top spot in attendance list | Photo: AFP

The spectators are the soul of football. The roar of the fans in the gallery excites the players on the field. Especially the screams of the spectators combined with the dynamics of football bring a different atmosphere to the field, which is incomparable.

That's why many people call the audience the 12th player. Barcelona showed the most dominance in terms of the presence of that 12th player in 2023. Their average attendance per match was 83,273 people.

But surprisingly, Barca did not even make it to the top 20 in 2024. The question may arise, has Barca lost popularity at a landslide pace? Of course, that is not the case, their stadium change has played a major role in Barca's loss of audience. Barca could not play at their familiar ground, Camp Nou, throughout the entire 2024 season.

Due to renovations on the ground, Barca had to play their matches at the Olympic Luis Compañía Stadium. That is, Barca moved from the Camp Nou stadium, which has a capacity of about 100,000, to a stadium with a capacity of 56,000. The Catalan club has fallen out of the top twenty mainly because of the reduced capacity. Borussia Dortmund has taken their place at the top.

Such yellow enthusiasm is regularly seen in the Borussia Dortmund gallery | Photo: AFP

The Signal Iduna Park stadium is always filled with cheers from fans. Last year was no exception. The stadium had an average attendance of 81,312.

No other stadium had such a large attendance last season. Dortmund's Bundesliga rivals Bayern Munich are second on the list. The Allianz Arena had an average attendance of 75,000 per match. Despite the team's performance, the crowd certainly encouraged Manchester United. The average attendance at Old Trafford was 73,700 per match.

The next two places on the list are occupied by Serie A powerhouses Inter Milan and AC Milan. Inter Milan's home matches at the San Siro had an average attendance of 72,488, while AC Milan's matches at the same stadium had an average attendance of 71,970.

The average attendance per match at the Santiago Bernabeu, home to Europe's most successful team, Real Madrid, was 69,468. Three clubs from outside Europe's top five leagues made it into the top 20.

The Scottish league club is ranked 15th with 59,022 spectators. Also in the top 20 are Portugal's Benfica (56,403) in 18th position and Brazilian club Flamengo (53,128) in 20th position. Also on the list are German second-tier club Hamburg. They are ranked 19th with 55,924 spectators.