The Premier League is the most watched soccer league in the US and the world. A common language, an exciting and fast-paced style of play, and some of the best players in the world have all popularized this league in the US. With a large and growing fanbase in the US, we’ll examine the most popular Premier League teams in the US, and why some fans follow these teams.
When I was growing up in the late 90s and early 2000s, the Premier League and the Champions League were the only top level soccer games you could watch consistently in the US. During this period, the Premier League gained much of its popularity in the US. The success of its teams in the Champions League in this era led many fans to further respect the league’s quality, as well as pick their allegiances.
A few American players also saw success in this league since the early 2000’s, like Friedel, Keller, Howard, Dempsey, McBride, Pulisic, Bocanegra, Robinson, and many more.
The popularity is ranked by a favorability study from 2022, while the rest of the analysis is our own. Let’s dig into the teams.
Liverpool
Liverpool came out on top in the survey. They have the advantage of recent success coupled with a long tradition of success dating back to the 70’s and 80’s. People seem to like a sleeping giant that has recently come back to life. They recently won the Premier League in 2020, as well as the Champions League in 2019.
They have also been the only team to give the dominant Manchester City any sort of competition over the past 5 years, until Arsenal last year, keeping the league from becoming too much of a one-horse race (and giving neutrals a relative underdog to root for in the face of a financial behemoth…)
Of course their charismatic coach Jurgen Kloop, who recently departed, and an exciting, attacking style of play featuring a trio of Mohammed Salah, Sadio Mane, and Roberto Firmino, kept viewers on the edge of their seats for most of their games. Even though two of this trio has gone, there has rarely been a dull moment with recent Liverpool seasons, and they are off to a good start with a new coach this season.
The fact that they tend to spend less than the other teams on this list on player transfers (in terms of net spend) can attract some fans who prefer a more sustainable model of squad-building that relies on player development, as opposed to buying the shiny new toys every season. Their iconic stadium, Anfield, is another part of this club that many in the US find intriguing.
Manchester United
The kings of the Premier League era, thanks to their legendary coach Sir Alex Ferguson, and a traditional power of the English game, Manchester United came second in this poll. Many other sources have them listed as the most popular team in the US according to other metrics (monthly search volume, social media engagement), and for good reason – this team has largely been very successful until the past 8-9 years.
Their famous Treble in 1999, the rise to stardom of David Beckham, and their continued success domestically and in Europe drew many fans stateside to this traditional giant of the English game. There were plenty of reasons to become a Manchester United fan in the past 25 years or so, and they’ve accumulated a wide fanbase in the US and elsewhere.
Unfortunately for Manchester United fans, their dominance has slipped recently, as they have struggled to find consistent winning form since the retirement of Ferguson. A flawed transfer strategy has seen them spend hundreds of millions on new players with little to show for it on the field.
New ownership promises to get this club back on track, and if they can find the right formula behind the scenes, Manchester United have the all the ingredients to become dominant again.
Manchester City
Americans love a winner, and no English team has done a better job of winning in recent years than Manchester City. They have won the Premier League 6 out of the past 7 years (with only Liverpool breaking the streak), and took home the Champions League in 2023.
Pep Guardiola has created a winning machine, and anyone who has become a fan of the Premier League lately is likely to be a Manchester City fan (especially those of the fair weather variety). They were not a traditional powerhouse of the English game before their takeover by the Abu Dhabi Royal Family in 2008, and this ownership group basically gave them a blank check to invest in the team and club infrastructure. The management team has done well to invest these unlimited resources.
Neutrals are split on their style of play. Some love their possession-based style that tends to slowly choke the life out of opponents before unleashing a fury of attacking play led by some of the most talented players in the world. Others describe their style as “sterile domination” with a lack of excitement or ingenuity by most of their players.
You cannot argue with their success, and until Guardiola decides to move on (and probably after), they will continue to dominate the league, leaving some fans to actively root against City to keep the outcome of the season a little more dramatic. You have to at least respect how well they’ve used the tremendous resources at their disposal. You can also enjoy watching players like Kevin DeBruyne, Bernardo Silva, Erling Haaland, Phil Foden, and many others.
Chelsea
A classic team you love to hate. Chelsea has had some very good spurts of success since the early 2000s, and many fans coming to the game in that era became Chelsea fans. The bad-guy charm of Jose Mourinho, the seemingly unlimited funds of a Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich, and a collection of world-class talent gave fans a reason to love (or hate) the bad-guy persona of this London-based club.
While Mourinho was not known for creating an exciting style of play, he was known for winning. Alongside Arsenal, his were the only teams consistently challenging the Manchester United dominance of the early 2000s. Even after Mourinho left (twice), they managed to find periods of success by investing in great players and running a merry-go-round of coaches until they could find the right fit.
The fact that Christian Pulisic made his big move to Chelsea a few years back led to a bump in their popularity stateside as well.
After a change in ownership to an American group, they look to be getting back to their winning ways after a couple of poor seasons on the field and questionable strategies off the field.
Arsenal
In the early 2000s, Arsenal were the main contenders to the dominance of Manchester United before Chelsea’s billionaire Russian owner came on board. Their team of “invincibles” led them to an undefeated Premier League campaign in 03/04 that has yet to be matched.
In those days, Arsenal featured the innovative coaching of Arsene Wenger, and exciting players like Thierry Henry, Denis Bergkamp, and Patrick Vieira, among many other excellent individuals. They were one of the few teams dedicated to playing a more attacking, free-flowing game in the face of the rough and tumble style of play found in England back then.
Their iconic stadium, Highbury, gave their home games a special atmosphere, as it seemed like the seats were almost on the field. It was one of the few old-style stadiums left in the Premier League during the early 2000s.
These features of the club made it easy to be an Arsenal fan in those days, and it appears that many have stuck around since. While they’ve always been near the top of the table since, they haven’t won a Premier League title in over 20 years. Their performance in recent years has taken them to within touching distance of a title (just falling short last year), and exciting young players like Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard, and Declan Rice are giving existing Arsenal fans hope of breaking their trophy drought, as well as attracting new fans on this side of the Atlantic.
Tottenham
The underdog of this group and the club that rounds out the “Big 6” of the recent premier league era. Tottenham hasn’t seen much success with regard to trophies over the past few decades, last winning the League Cup in 2008, and they haven’t won the top flight title since 1961.
So why are so many Americans fans of this team? Clint Dempsey and Brad Friedel played for Tottenham for a few years in the 2000s and 2010s, further popularizing this club in the US. They have produced an exciting and competitive team over the past 10 years, with some respectable finishes in the Premier League. Mauricio Pochettino, now the US Men’s National Team coach, played an attractive style of soccer that brought a deep run in the Champions League in 2019, losing to Liverpool in the final.
They’ve also recently boasted some fun players to watch, such as Harry Kane and Son Heung-min and always gave the top teams a good match. Their new coach has continued with an exciting style of play, and new young players have kept this team competitive.
Basically, these underdogs to the very top teams in the league have been good enough to go toe to toe with the best. Americans love an underdog who can pull off an upset, so this ranking makes sense.
Verdict
The popularity of the Premier League and its top teams has made its way to the US, becoming the most watched soccer league in this country. Without any geographical or traditional reasons for following certain teams, many factors have contributed to an engaged fanbase in the US.
