BBC Sport give their verdict as they ask fans ‘Which is the biggest football club in Britain?’, an it’s caused quite the debate.
They recently put out a survey by ranking the top 10 clubs based on five different criteria, around 250 staff members across the UK having their say, and averaging out their lists to create a final top 10.
The process sparked plenty of debate and disagreement, reflecting the subjective nature of the question—whether “biggest” refers to trophies, stadium size, fanbase, or recent success.
Key points from their analysis include Manchester United’s Old Trafford currently being the largest club stadium, with plans for a new £2billion, 100,000-seater ground that would surpass Wembley’s 90,000 capacity.
Manchester City’s dominance over the past decade, with six Premier League titles and an average league position of 1.7, bolsters their case.
Liverpool stand out as England’s most successful club historically, with more European trophies than any other English side and a chance to match United’s 20 top-flight titles this season.
Arsenal lead in FA Cup wins, while United boast the highest combined social media following across major platforms, hinting at their global reach.
The BBC have used the following data – trophies, social media, consistency, finance, fanbase, and engagement – took take into account for their ranking…
Manchester United top the table in the stadium capacity category pic.twitter.com/Pa7memxraJ
— Match of the Day (@BBCMOTD) March 26, 2025
And finally… It’s Celtic who hold the record for most trophies for a British side 🏆 pic.twitter.com/bxqdH3edCP
— Match of the Day (@BBCMOTD) March 26, 2025
They said: It’s the age-old debate – which is the biggest football club in Britain?
“Is it the one with the most trophies? The one with the highest revenue, or the greatest social media following? The biggest stadium, or the best average league position? Or perhaps it’s a happy medium of all those things.
“Most importantly, it’s a debate nobody can win, one we all have a different take on and will all be offended by no matter how convincing someone’s argument may be.
“To bring the most unserious of serious topics to life, BBC Sport recently asked about 250 of its staff across the UK to take on the unanswerable question.
“There were a lot of arguments. And a lot of unhappy people.
“But at the end we averaged out the lists and came up with a top 10 below.
“Agree with it? Of course you don’t.
“No doubt many of you will feel enraged at where your club has ended up. So please, all we ask is that you remember a) this is an average and there were lots of different versions b) we’re not saying we’re right c) you can leave your top 10 below and d) it’s just a bit of fun.”
BBC Sport’s top 10 British football clubs
1) Manchester United
2) Liverpool
3) Arsenal
4) Manchester City
5) Celtic
6) Chelsea
7) Tottenham Hotspur
8) Rangers
9) Aston Villa
10) Newcastle United
In an attempt to be more scientific, they took into account certain factors in isolation to see which clubs lead the way.
When asked fans to vote on who they think is the biggest British football club, they asked those taking part to drag the following teams in order of who you think are the biggest club…
Aberdeen
Arsenal
Aston Villa
Brighton
Celtic
Chelsea
Crystal Palace
Everton
Hearts
Leeds United
Leicester City
Liverpool
Manchester United
Manchester City
Newcastle
Rangers
Sunderland
Tottenham
West Ham
You can do that by clicking HERE.
BBC Sport give their verdict as they ask fans ‘Which is the biggest football club in Britain?’…
@foreverayellow: All I’ll say is when fans/managers/chairman of efl and non league clubs are asked before an FA Cup draw who they want out of the big boys, usually its always Man Utd
@Lipsy198: Simple answer. Manchester United.
@c_r_5:
Easy
ManUtd
Liverpool
Celtic
Rangers
Arsenal
Chelsea
Villa
ManCity
@MrStephenHowson: The one you have to write about 10x a day.
@bashy_1986: Surprised Tottenham wasn’t cut off from list somehow as apparently we have no trophies
@Sean_Mc90: You’ve used Celtic’s and Ranger’s trophies in Scotland to try and exclude Liverpool from the conversation of being the biggest club in the land 😂 Why not include Welsh and North Irish clubs like TNS and Linfield who have won far more trophies than most?
@THENUNEATONFOX: TNS… dominate Welsh football for years 😉
@LiamB67_:
Manchester United
Liverpool
Celtic
Rangers
Arsenal
Leeds
.. the rest
@TheLeegend1978:
1. United
2. Liverpool
3. Man City
4. Arsenal
5. Chelsea
6. Villa
7. Spurs
8. Newcastle
9. Everton
10. Dirty Leeds
@GarySmithJnr: It’s Manchester United. They are only second in the world to Real Madrid.
@HammettStuart:
Manchester United always has and always will
Liverpool closely followed
There is not another club in Britain remotely close to either of them and never will
@MarkusPapst3: The title of “Britain’s largest football club” can be relative and is dependent on the criteria you use, e.g., history, trophies, fans, or finance……but the 4 clubs in there would be Liverpool, Man Utd, Man City and Arsenal
@KeslerSZN:
United
Pool
Arsenal
Villa
@thejason99: Liverpool
@KevinWilson244: Manchester United hands down 👍🏼
@Paul_Coull87: Its Manchester United, i don’t like them in any way, shape or form but they are the biggest
@eddy_hebbron:
United
Liverpool
Rangers
Celtic
@BenSmit57161751: Liverpool, biggest and most successful.
@DazLFC79: Liverpool = most successful and biggest, simple
@ffs_nelson: Probably still Man Utd despite the circus. Liverpool second City third.
this is the only correct ranking.
the only clubs in the uk that can be considered as ‘big clubs’ 👍🏻 https://t.co/4ydQfD29lf pic.twitter.com/hW4a89rDhW
— J🇻🇦🏴 (@cfcjoe1888_) March 26, 2025
https://t.co/BxdJc2GSHG pic.twitter.com/LoEYywpJr5
— Your Man United Guy ™️ (@manunitedrebel) March 26, 2025
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