Clash of the Facebook titans

#CLÁS1CO A HUGE DEAL ON SOCIAL MEDIA

The 'Clásico' between Real Madrid and Barcelona is the biggest game in world football and the buzz on Facebook confirms as much.

Here's a run through of some 'Clásico'-related facts and figures from the most popular social network on the planet.

Who has more fans?

Barcelona and Real Madrid lead the way on Facebook for sports clubs. Barça have the edge, with 83,443,062 fans to Real Madrid's 82,755,530*. Manchester United are next in line, but trail the 'Clásico' participants by over 20 million followers.

What would the Facebook dream team be?

Iker Casillas, Marcelo, Gerard Piqué, Pepe, Sergio Ramos, Gareth Bale, James Rodríguez, Cristiano Ronaldo, Leo Messi and Neymar. This would be the combined Barça and Real Madrid XI based on Facebook fans. Ronaldo tops the pile with 107 million followers, streets ahead of Messi on 72 million. Ancelotti would get the nod in the dugout, as 'Azulgranas' boss Luis Enrique doesn't have an official Facebook account.

Where is the 'Clásico' hotspot?

Surprising as it may seem, the country where there has been the most 'Clásico' talk on Facebook in recent days is Brazil. Next up come Mexico, Argentina, the USA and Indonesia, with Spain back in sixth place! This is irrefutable proof of the interest in Barça and Real Madrid all over the world.

Which way does Spain lean?

'Los Blancos' would win by a large margin if the result on the pitch were determined by Facebook users. The Basque Country, Navarre, the Balearic Islands, Castellón, Valencia and of course Catalonia are the only areas of the country where there are more pro-Barça than pro-Real Madrid Facebookers. Spain's remaining 43 provinces, not to mention the autonomous cities of Ceuta and Melilla, are all painted 'Merengues' white when it comes to Facebook.

As you can see, Barça and Real Madrid are hot stuff on Facebook across the globe. The same goes for MARCA, with over three million fans on the Spanish page and a growing community in English too. Why not join in the action by clicking 'Like' to keep up to date with all the latest news and developments?