The Spanish La Liga giants retained the position that they won last year, with the top three – Real Madrid and Chelsea – remaining unchanged for the first time since the report started. Barcelona also beat rivals Real Madrid as the most followed Spanish club on microblogging site Weibo.

Both Barcelona and the English Premier League were dominant on Douyin, the Chinese-language version of TikTok. The report noted a 50 per cent increase in the number of clubs active on Douyin.

The EPL’s 43 million Douyin engagement was twice that of second place La Liga, despite a difficult year for the league which saw it dropped from Chinese screens amid a dispute over broadcast rights.

“Football fans in China have shown their loyal and passionate support for Premier League clubs for many years, so we are proud to have won the Red Card award again,” EPL CEO Richard Masters said.

“Our innovative digital coverage has continued to evolve and prove popular with fans in China, at a time when the importance of digital content in people’s lives has been emphasised during the Covid-19 pandemic.

“We will continue to provide new ways for fans in the country to engage with the Premier League, as we look at developing our digital presence in China.”

Aside from the impact of Covid-19 as noted by Masters, which saw club’s annual summer tours cancelled and football postponed, the league was not alone in fending off controversy.

Arsenal ranked 11th of European clubs, up two places from the year before, with Uefa Champions League winners Bayern Munich rising three places to fourth and English Premier League champions Liverpool rising two to fifth. Spanish side Espanyol, the club of China’s star player Wu Lei, dropped one place to 15th this year. The club were relegated to the second division last season.

Elsewhere, Cristiano Ronaldo saw his social media following double after joining video platform Kuaishou, for whom he became an official ambassador, where he got 7.7 million followers in a month.

“Thank you to everyone for this award for the third time,” Ronaldo said after winning. “I know how passionate the Chinese fans are about football, and this is a real honour for me. I wish you all my very best and hope to see you soon.”

The five-time Ballon d’Or winner, who ordinarily makes annual trips to the country, also dominated on Weibo, with five times more engagement than second-placed Neymar Jnr.

David Beckham, who joined Douyin and outperformed active footballers on the platform, was second behind Ronaldo overall, with Neymar in third. Surprisingly, China’s fourth most popular footballer is Manchester United’s Anthony Martial ahead of Lionel Messi in fifth.

Mailman also handed out six digital awards, decided by a panel of 12 industry experts. Real Madrid won Best Original Production, Paris Saint Germain and hotel brand Accor were given Best Sponsorship, and Inter Milan noted for Best CSR Initiative.

Chelsea won Best Live Stream, Bayern Munich were named Best Creative Campaign and English side Wolves were given an award for Best e-commerce Initiative.