Stadium Attendance Across Europe’s Top Leagues in 2024/25

Written by Paul Kemp

Paul Kemp

Paul Kemp is an experienced sports writer covering Soccer, NBA and NHL. He also writes in depth reviews of sports betting sites based on his personal experience.

, | Updated: July 9, 2025

While watching the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup in the United States, one detail stood out more than any result: the visibly empty stands. Sparse attendance at a global event of that magnitude raised an obvious question – how do fans turn up across Europe’s biggest football leagues?

SportingPedia‘s latest report explores the state of attendance across the top five European leagues during the 2024/25 season. The data reveals that a combined total of 58,832,610 spectators passed through stadium gates over the course of the campaign, with the average match drawing 33,586 fans. One of the most striking revelations: Manchester United registered the highest total attendance of any club in Europe with 1,402,488 spectators visiting Old Trafford despite the worst Premier League season in the club’s history.

Top Spectators in 2024/25 Season by League

Data Source: Transfermarkt

From packed English and German grounds to struggling Spanish turnouts, the numbers offer a deeper look into where the sport continues to thrive in person – and where stadium seats are staying empty.

The Premier League has once again proven its dominance in terms of fan engagement, drawing a staggering 15,380,253 spectators across the 2024/25 season. Not only does this figure top all European domestic competitions, but the English top flight also leads in average stadium occupancy, with 97.89% of seats filled.

Despite having less matchdays, the Bundesliga follows with 11,831,212 fans in total, and its occupancy rate stands at 97.10%, just behind the Premier League. However, German stadiums were sold out far more often – 187 times across the league, compared to just 42 in England. Every Bundesliga club played at least one match in a fully packed stadium, showing a remarkable consistency in crowd attendance.

Average Stadium Occupancy in 2024/25 Season by League

Data Source: Transfermarkt

La Liga and Serie A were close in total numbers with 11,406,042 and 11,663,491 respectively, but both leagues struggled to maximise stadium capacity. La Liga only registered a single sold-out fixture all season, while Serie A had two. Their occupancy rates were nearly identical – 81.01% for the Spanish league and 80.66% for the Italian. Ligue 1, despite having fewer total spectators (8,551,612), registered 24 sellouts and an 80.73% average occupancy, trailing La Liga and Serie A on both metrics.

Top 20 European Clubs by Total Attendance

Data Source: Transfermarkt

In the Premier League, Manchester United drew the highest total attendance, welcoming 1,402,488 fans to Old Trafford over the season. Newcastle recorded the highest occupancy rate at 99.86%, just ahead of West Ham with 99.85%. At the other end, Fulham had the league’s lowest occupancy, averaging 90.66% at Craven Cottage.

Despite that, Fulham led the Premier League in sell-outs with 8, followed by Chelsea with 7. Liverpool and Manchester City each had 6, while West Ham recorded 5. Only a handful of other clubs managed at least one full-capacity home match.

In La Liga, Real Madrid led the league in total home attendance, drawing 1,381,142 fans to the Santiago Bernabeu over 19 matches. Athletic Bilbao recorded the highest occupancy rate at 90.86%, followed by Leganes (89.41%) and Real Madrid (89.69%). At the bottom, Espanyol had the lowest occupancy in the league, filling just 63.31% of RCDE Stadium on average.

Real Sociedad registered the only official sell-out in La Liga throughout the entire 2024/25 season – the weakest sell-out record among Europe’s top five leagues.

In the Bundesliga, Borussia Dortmund attracted the highest total home attendance of the season with 1,383,205 fans across 17 matches. Together with Bayern Munich and Heidenheim, they were one of three clubs to achieve a perfect 100% occupancy rate, selling out every home game.

Every team in the league registered at least 4 sell-outs. At the other end, Hoffenheim recorded the lowest occupancy in the league at 83.94%, while Wolfsburg followed with 85.06%. Even so, most Bundesliga clubs filled well over 95% of their stadium capacity, underscoring the league’s unrivalled consistency in fan turnout.

In Serie A, Milan finished with the highest total home attendance of the season, drawing 1,358,734 fans at San Siro. Close behind were Inter with 1,332,444, making the shared stadium the most visited venue in Italian football.

Juventus recorded the highest occupancy rate in the league at 96.94%, followed by Cagliari, who filled 98.29% of their 16,365-seat Unipol Domus. Napoli also impressed with 93.26% at the Maradona Stadium.

At the other end, Fiorentina had the lowest occupancy across the league, filling just 47.18% of the Artemio Franchi on average. Empoli (54.33%) and Lazio (62.40%) also struggled to maximise their home support.

In terms of sell-outs, only Como and Venezia registered one each – underlining Serie A’s difficulty in filling stadiums even among top-performing sides.

In Ligue 1, Marseille led the league in total home attendance with 1,082,609 fans at the Orange Velodrome, averaging nearly 64,000 per match. Lens recorded the highest occupancy rate at 99.25%, selling out all 17 home games at Stade Bollaert-Delelis. PSG followed closely with 98.13% at Parc des Princes, while Brest also performed strongly with 95.10%.

At the bottom, Monaco had the lowest occupancy in the league, filling just 50.53% of Stade Louis-II. Montpellier (61.32%) and Nice (67.17%) also struggled to attract fans consistently.

Three clubs – Lens, Strasbourg, and Reims – registered at least one official sell-out.

City Rivals

A look at clubs from the same city reveals clear divides in attendance. In Manchester, United outdrew City by nearly 385,000 fans, with 1,402,488 at Old Trafford versus City’s 1,017,942 at the Etihad, helped by the higher capacity and a near-identical occupancy rate. In Milan, the shared San Siro saw both Inter and Milan pass 1.3 million in attendance, with Milan slightly ahead at 1,358,734 to Inter’s 1,332,444 – averaging over 70,000 per match each. Rome showed a sharper contrast: Roma welcomed 1,186,257 to the Olimpico, significantly more than Lazio’s 837,458, despite using the same venue. In Madrid, Real’s Santiago Bernabeu, slightly larger than Atletico’s Metropolitano, hosted 1,381,142 fans, beating Atletico’s 1,156,780, with a notable gap in average attendance as well. In Seville, Betis far surpassed their rivals, attracting 979,298 to the Benito Villamarin compared to Sevilla’s 676,765, a difference of over 300,000 that can’t be described as close.

Detailed Data