Manchester United Up to 2nd in Digital Engagement Rankings, Barca Back on Top

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Manchester United's busy Christmas period has not been appreciated by all at Old Trafford, but the club's social media team will be pleased to see its impact on their digital engagement ranking.

United are up from third to second, with Chelsea also making a jump to chart at fourth. Manchester City are among the week's biggest climbers, leaping from 10th to seventh.

At the top of the table Barcelona reclaim bragging rights from Clasico rivals Real Madrid.

Bleacher Report has teamed up with ListenFirst to produce a new weekly ranking of the world's top football clubs based on their success in social engagement for the previous seven days.

The rankings represent a raw aggregate of daily engagements based on owned, earned and organic consumer behavior on Facebook, Google+, Instagram, Tumblr, Twitter, Wikipedia and YouTube.

Listenfirst

In the trending stakes it's been a strong week for Deportivo La Coruna, who saw a 544 per cent spike in digital engagement. Southampton and Manchester United make up the top three.

In the ever-evolving sports industry, where far more fans are able to be captivated on a smartphone than in a stadium, Bleacher Report has teamed up with ListenFirst Media to keep a finger on the pulse of the digital arena. Every Wednesday, ListenFirst Media will provide Bleacher Report with its Digital Engagement Ratings™ for soccer clubs, a syndicated rating system for digital fan engagement. Think decibel meter on the Jumbotron. ListenFirst Digital Engagement Ratings™ aggregate engagement data across the most critical and widely trafficked digital platforms to assess the level of fan engagement generated by the leading franchises.