More soccer fans in the U.S. attended LAFC vs LA Galaxy than the match between Real Madrid vs AC Milan at the Rose Bowl in 2023. In fact, attendance for LAFC vs LA Galaxy outpaced Real Madrid vs AC Milan by a whopping 16 percent.
On Sunday, over 70,000 soccer fans packed into the Rose Bowl Stadium in California to see Spanish club Real Madrid take on Italian club AC Milan. The match drew in a total of 70,814 people into the Rose Bowl, which is 10,000 more than originally expected.
Despite the marquee game, it’s only the second major crowd to attend a soccer match at the Rose Bowl. Earlier this month, 82,110 fans packed into the Rose Bowl to attend the LA Galaxy vs Los Angeles Football Club match.
While Real Madrid and AC Milan have hundreds of millions of fans, more soccer fans in the U.S. showed up for the MLS rivalry, a sign of the league’s growth and popularity.
Rose Bowl Soccer Crowds Prove MLS Is Growing Rapidly
To put matters in perspective, the two MLS rivals have about 1.4 percent of the total number of Instagram followers compared to their European football counterparts.
As of this writing, AC Milan (14.5M) and Real Madrid (144M) combine for nearly 160 million followers on Instagram.
On the other hand, L.A. Galaxy (1.5M) and LAFC (792k) combine for fewer than 2.5 million followers on Instagram.
While the MLS teams have a fair bit of catching up to do on social media, it appears that the league was already in a healthy place before the arrival of Lionel Messi.
AC Milan Looks to Drive Their Popularity Among the U.S.
In June, AC Milan added Chrisitan Pulisic to the squad.
Pulisic, who is the captain of the U.S. National Soccer team, is expected to give AC Milan a major presence in the U.S.
On Sunday, he returned home and played in front of a home crowd of over 70,000 people.
Since Pulisic joined AC Milan, the club has already started selling out jerseys. In fact, team store sales are up more than 266 percent since the signing with American buyers accounting for 43 percent of all sales, up from just 9 percent prior to Pulisic joining the club.
Pulisic jerseys also accounted for a whopping 45 percent of jersey sales, proof that Americans will support their favorite soccer stars, no matter where they are playing.
Soccer Betting Guides 2024
- Soccer Betting Guide – Discover the Best Soccer Betting Sites in US Ranked & Reviewed.
- Best Soccer Betting Apps – Compare Top-rated Apps for Soccer Betting.
- Free Soccer Picks – Check Expert Soccer Picks & Predictions.
- The Latest Soccer Odds – Compare the Best Soccer Betting Odds.
- Soccer Spread Odds Explained – Expert Guide on How to Win Soccer Spread Bets.
- Soccer Moneyline Odds Explained – Expert Guide on How to Win Soccer Moneyline Bets.
- Soccer Futures Odds Explained – Expert Guide on How to Win Soccer Futures Bets.
- Soccer Totals Odds Explained – Expert Guide on How to Win Soccer Totals Bets.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
