# Who would you say are the top 5 most famous sports teams in the world. **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [May 5, 2011, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-say-are-the-top-5-most-famous-sports-teams-in-the-world/580804 "2011-05-05T03:42:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Rondembo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/dbc845/32.png) [@Rondembo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rondembo)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2011, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-say-are-the-top-5-most-famous-sports-teams-in-the-world/580804/1 "2011-05-05T03:42:56Z")
I think the #1 spot is obviously the Yankees, and Id say Lakers are second. What do you think of this top 5: 1. Yankees 2. Lakers 3. Cowboys 4. Steelers 5. Red Sox ---
**Author:** ![KennerTheGreat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/a8b319/32.png) [@KennerTheGreat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KennerTheGreat)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2011, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-say-are-the-top-5-most-famous-sports-teams-in-the-world/580804/2 "2011-05-05T03:45:22Z")
In no particular order: New York Yankees Montreal Canadiens Dallas Cowboys Manchester United Real Madrid ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2011, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-say-are-the-top-5-most-famous-sports-teams-in-the-world/580804/3 "2011-05-05T03:45:28Z")
Any list without Manchester United on it is an incomplete list indeed… ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2011, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-say-are-the-top-5-most-famous-sports-teams-in-the-world/580804/4 "2011-05-05T03:45:44Z")
A rather US-centric list you have there. I’d think that Manchester United, at a minimum, would be on a worldwide list. ---
**Author:** ![Rondembo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/dbc845/32.png) [@Rondembo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rondembo)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2011, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-say-are-the-top-5-most-famous-sports-teams-in-the-world/580804/5 "2011-05-05T04:03:35Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > A rather US-centric list you have there. > > I’d think that Manchester United, at a minimum, would be on a worldwide list. Do you really think Manchester united are more famous than the freaking Yankees :rolleyes: I had to google them to fin out who they are and I bet 99% of Americans couldn’t name you 1 player on that team. It’s not US centric,we have the biggest sport leagues and the teams with the biggest global revenues and media exposure, soccer only gets that type of worldwide ESPN coverage once every 4 years during the World Cup and Manchester united doesn’t even play in the world cup. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2011, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-say-are-the-top-5-most-famous-sports-teams-in-the-world/580804/6 "2011-05-05T04:08:43Z")
> [@Rondembo](#): > > Do you really think Manchester united are more famous than the freaking Yankees :rolleyes: I had to google them to fin out who they are and I bet 99% of Americans couldn’t name you 1 player on that team. > > It’s not US centric,we have the biggest sport leagues and the teams with the biggest global revenues and media exposure, soccer only gets that type of worldwide ESPN coverage once every 4 years during the World Cup and Manchester united doesn’t even play in the world cup. And Americans are less than 5% of the world’s population. You asked “what are the top five most famous sports teams **in the world** ”, not “among American sports fans.” I’d be very, VERY willing to bet that more sports fans, worldwide, would be familiar with Manchester United than the New York Yankees. Soccer is the primary spectator sport in most countries worldwide; baseball in only a relative handful of countries. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2011, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-say-are-the-top-5-most-famous-sports-teams-in-the-world/580804/7 "2011-05-05T04:09:00Z")
Actually, according to # of Facebook friends the most popular team in the world is a soccer (football) team from Turkey. [Link](http://www.sportingintelligence.com/2010/08/01/the-worlds-most-popular-sports-team-its-not-the-yankees-barca-real-man-utd-liverpool-or-the-lakers-its-galatasaray-020801/). ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2011, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-say-are-the-top-5-most-famous-sports-teams-in-the-world/580804/8 "2011-05-05T04:12:36Z")
According to Forbes Magazine, the most valuable sports team in the world is Man. U. > **[Slide Show: The World's Most Valuable Sports Teams](https://www.forbes.com/2010/07/20/most-valuable-athletes-and-teams-business-sports-sportsmoney-fifty-fifty-teams_slide.html)** > > The SportsMoney 50-50 ranks the world's most valuable teams and athletes. ---
**Author:** ![Lamar\_Mundane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lamar\_Mundane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamar_Mundane)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2011, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-say-are-the-top-5-most-famous-sports-teams-in-the-world/580804/9 "2011-05-05T04:15:58Z")
There are Ping-Pong players more followed and famous that the Yankees. ---
**Author:** ![Crawlspace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Crawlspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crawlspace)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2011, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-say-are-the-top-5-most-famous-sports-teams-in-the-world/580804/10 "2011-05-05T04:22:50Z")
Excluding national teams, in no particular order: NY Yankees Manchester United Real Madrid Ferrari Barca ---
**Author:** ![Rondembo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/dbc845/32.png) [@Rondembo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rondembo)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2011, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-say-are-the-top-5-most-famous-sports-teams-in-the-world/580804/11 "2011-05-05T04:27:33Z")
> [@Crawlspace](#): > > Excluding national teams, in no particular order: > > NY Yankees > Manchester United > Real Madrid > Ferrari > Barca First how is ferrari a sports team? Second no ways something as ridiculously named as Real Madrid (as opposed to some other team named Fake Madrid?) more famous than the Cowboys or Lakers which are both household names worldwide. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2011, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-say-are-the-top-5-most-famous-sports-teams-in-the-world/580804/12 "2011-05-05T04:38:19Z")
> [@Rondembo](#): > > First how is ferrari a sports team? F1 auto racing. Which, again, is a very niche sport in the U.S. (where we don’t even have a F1 race anymore), but is huge in much of the rest of the world. > [@Rondembo](#): > > Second no ways something as ridiculously named as Real Madrid (as opposed to some other team named Fake Madrid?) more famous than the Cowboys or Lakers which are both household names worldwide. 1. “Real” is Spanish for “Royal”. 2. Care to produce some cites for “Cowboys or Lakers which are both household names worldwide”? ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2011, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-say-are-the-top-5-most-famous-sports-teams-in-the-world/580804/13 "2011-05-05T04:39:05Z")
> [@Rondembo](#): > > First how is ferrari a sports team? Second no ways something as ridiculously named as Real Madrid (as opposed to some other team named Fake Madrid?) more famous than the Cowboys or Lakers which are both household names worldwide. Once again, we must turn to the most scientific tool. That’s right, Google! Cowboys - 64 million hits Lakers - 57 million hits Yankees - 44 million hits “Real Madrid” - 151 million hits “Manchester United” - 94 million hits That’s right, even giving the US teams the advantage of not including their city names in quotes (meaning I including sites about actual cowboys), they’re still well below those Soccer teams. It’s obvious you hate soccer, but you can’t ignore the facts. And I say that as someone who has never actually watched a full soccer game and as someone who treats every Sunday in fall as it’s own holiday. ---
**Author:** ![Crawlspace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Crawlspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crawlspace)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2011, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-say-are-the-top-5-most-famous-sports-teams-in-the-world/580804/14 "2011-05-05T04:39:24Z")
> [@Rondembo](#): > > Cowboys or Lakers which are both household names worldwide. Never heard of them. ---
**Author:** ![FordTaurusSHO94](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f07891/32.png) [@FordTaurusSHO94](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FordTaurusSHO94)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2011, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-say-are-the-top-5-most-famous-sports-teams-in-the-world/580804/15 "2011-05-05T04:40:10Z")
Ferrari is a Formula 1 team that sometimes sells cars to finance their racing program. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2011, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-say-are-the-top-5-most-famous-sports-teams-in-the-world/580804/16 "2011-05-05T04:42:14Z")
> [@Rondembo](#): > > First how is ferrari a sports team? Second no ways something as ridiculously named as Real Madrid (as opposed to some other team named Fake Madrid?) more famous than the Cowboys or Lakers which are both household names worldwide. Just because _you_ haven’t heard of them doesn’t mean that they are less famous than the Cowboys/Lakers. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Scud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f08c70/32.png) [@Tom\_Scud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Scud)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2011, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-say-are-the-top-5-most-famous-sports-teams-in-the-world/580804/17 "2011-05-05T05:12:09Z")
At a guess, Manchester United Real Madrid FC Barcelona AC Milan Arsenal Maybe Chelsea or Liverpool or Bayern Munich or something. American sports just don’t have the international exposure. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Scud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f08c70/32.png) [@Tom\_Scud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Scud)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2011, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-say-are-the-top-5-most-famous-sports-teams-in-the-world/580804/18 "2011-05-05T05:14:51Z")
I’d also guess the Houston Rockets have more international cachet than any other American sports franchise, thanks to a billion or so Chinese people. ---
**Author:** ![Wolverine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ba9def/32.png) [@Wolverine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wolverine)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2011, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-say-are-the-top-5-most-famous-sports-teams-in-the-world/580804/19 "2011-05-05T05:23:29Z")
The NBA is very popular with my Chinese students. When I catch them watching basketball on their computers, it tends to be the Lakers or Celtics though partly because Yao Ming is not playing right now. ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2011, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-say-are-the-top-5-most-famous-sports-teams-in-the-world/580804/20 "2011-05-05T05:29:31Z")
Manchester United was the first one I thought of. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-say-are-the-top-5-most-famous-sports-teams-in-the-world/580804.md?page=2)