Cristiano Ronaldo and Real Madrid return to the top in China at expense of Leo Messi and Manchester United

European champions also back to top of Deloitte’s Football Money League, replacing Old Trafford club

Annual Red Card report shows English Premier League and Juventus as 2018’s other success stories

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Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates winning the 2018 Champions League with Real Madrid. Photo: AP

Published: 1:26pm, 28 Jan 2019Updated: 2:43pm, 28 Jan 2019

Juventus striker Cristiano Ronaldo, Real Madrid and the English Premier League were the big winners of Mailman’s annual Red Card Report, which was announced at an awards ceremony in Shanghai last week.

The sports marketing agency’s eighth annual report on the success of European football in Chinese social media was more confirmation that China remains an icon market with fans following players over clubs.

Ronaldo, who visited the mainland on his annual trip to launch a China-only football boot and a sportswear line, took back the mantle from Lionel Messi, who dropped to third.

Manchester United fans gather outside the team hotel in Beijing in 2016. Photo: Reuters

Together with second-placed Neymar Jnr, those three players account for 75 per cent of total player engagement in China.

Player accounts on Weibo grew by 56 million followers, seven times higher than club accounts and 11 times more than in 2017. Engagement is also higher for players compared to clubs – for example, Ronaldo’s average Weibo engagement is around 70 times that of his former club Real Madrid.