American Soccer Fans by the Numbers: What 14,388 Orders Reveal About the Shirts They Avoid

American soccer fans reveal what they really think about the game's biggest clubs in an unusual place: the checkout box where they list the shirts they never want to receive. Across 14,388 mystery-jersey orders, the single most-avoided club shirt in the United States is Real Madrid.

This page is the data reference behind that finding. When customers order a mystery soccer jersey, they can name the clubs, countries, and leagues they would rather not receive. Those choices are behavior, not opinion: real fans, spending real money, telling us which jerseys to keep out of the box. Below is what all 14,388 of those orders show.

Key findings

• Real Madrid is the most-avoided club shirt in the United States, named in 1,444 separate avoid requests.
• 77% of orders named at least one club, country, or league to avoid — avoiding a rival is the norm, not the exception.
• Every one of the top eight most-avoided clubs plays in either the Premier League or La Liga.
• Seven of the 15 most-avoided clubs are English; three are Italian and two are Spanish.
• Real Madrid was avoided about 36% more often than second-place Manchester United, and about 49% more than Barcelona.
• Inter Miami is the most-avoided MLS club, named in 164 requests — the clearest measure of the “Messi effect.”
• Avoidance drops sharply after the top eight, falling from 585 requests (Tottenham, 8th) to 184 (Bayern Munich, 9th).

Source: 14,388 orders placed on mysteryshirtinabox.us between July 2025 and July 2026. Figures are aggregated and anonymized.

The 15 most-avoided soccer club shirts in America

The table below ranks the club shirts U.S. mystery-box customers most often asked us to keep out of their order, by the number of separate avoid requests naming each club.

For the full narrative breakdown of this ranking, see our study on the most-avoided soccer shirts in America, or the state-by-state view in the most-avoided soccer club in every US state.

Which soccer shirt do American fans avoid the most?

Real Madrid. Across 14,388 orders, Real Madrid was named in 1,444 “shirt to avoid” requests — more than any other club in the world, and about 36% more than second-place Manchester United (1,064). It is the clearest single result in the data.

How many American fans avoid a rival?

More than three in four. 77% of the 14,388 orders named at least one club, country, or league to keep out of the box. Avoiding a rival isn't a fringe request in the U.S. market — it is the default behavior of the typical buyer.

Which leagues dominate the avoid list?

The Premier League and La Liga own the top of the list. Every one of the eight most-avoided clubs plays in one of those two leagues: six are English (Manchester United, Arsenal, Manchester City, Liverpool, Chelsea, Tottenham) and two are Spanish (Real Madrid, Barcelona). Across the full top 15, seven clubs are English, three Italian, two Spanish, and one each from Germany, France, and MLS.

Do American fans avoid different shirts than British fans?

Yes, and the gap is striking. In the U.S., Real Madrid runs away with the number-one spot and Barcelona lands in the top six. In our UK study, the list is led by Liverpool and Manchester United, and Real Madrid barely reaches the top ten. American soccer fandom is shaped far more heavily by La Liga and by El Clásico, which is why two Spanish clubs sit so high on the U.S. list and so much lower on the British one.

Why is Real Madrid the most-avoided shirt in America?

Two forces combine. First, sustained success breeds rivals: the most-avoided shirts are almost entirely the most successful clubs on earth. Second, and specific to the U.S., American soccer fandom is powered by a large, passionate Hispanic fanbase that splits hard between Real Madrid and Barcelona. In the raw order notes, the most common single instruction is some version of “I'm a Barça fan, please no Real Madrid.” That Clásico loyalty drives a high volume of “no Real Madrid” requests that simply doesn't exist at the same scale in Britain.

How do Real Madrid and Barcelona compare?

Real Madrid (1st, 1,444 requests) is avoided about 49% more often than Barcelona (6th, 967) — but both sit inside the top six, the only two-club rivalry to do so. That is El Clásico showing up one order at a time. We break the rivalry down in full in El Clásico in a Box.

What is the most-avoided MLS shirt?

Inter Miami, named in 164 requests — the highest of any American club and 10th overall. Since Lionel Messi's arrival, Inter Miami became the team every casual fan watches, which also makes it the club rival MLS fans least want to open. It is the clearest data point behind the “Messi effect” cutting both ways.

How does the “teams to avoid” feature work?

Every mystery jersey is a genuine surprise, but the buyer stays in control of what they will not accept. When you order a mystery soccer jersey, you name the specific clubs, leagues, countries, or colors you want kept out of the box. That single free-text field at checkout is what produced all of the data on this page — and it is why a Barça fan never opens a Real Madrid shirt.

Methodology

This report is based on 14,388 orders placed on mysteryshirtinabox.us between July 2025 and July 2026. Of those, 77% included at least one club, nation, or league the customer asked us to avoid. Club-level figures were taken from the free-text “teams to avoid” field completed at checkout and grouped to canonical club names (for example, “Man U,” “MUFC,” and “United” all count as Manchester United). Figures reflect the number of separate requests naming each club, not the number of jerseys sold. National-team and country-level preferences were recorded separately and are not included in this club ranking. All data is aggregated and anonymized.

Definitions

Mystery soccer jersey box: a sealed order containing one genuine, officially licensed soccer jersey chosen at random from a wide pool of clubs, countries, and eras. The buyer sets their size and preferences but does not know which shirt they will receive until it arrives.

Avoid request: a club, league, country, or color a customer names at checkout as something they do not want to receive. Each club named in this field counts once per order toward that club's total.

Frequently asked questions

Which soccer shirt do American fans avoid most?

Real Madrid. It was named in 1,444 avoid requests across 14,388 orders between July 2025 and July 2026, more than any other club and about 36% more than second-place Manchester United.

What percentage of American fans avoid a rival club?

77%. More than three in four orders named at least one club, country, or league to keep out of the box, making avoidance the default behavior among U.S. mystery-box buyers.

Which leagues appear most on the avoid list?

The Premier League and La Liga. All eight of the most-avoided clubs play in one of those two leagues, and seven of the top 15 clubs are English.

Do American and British fans avoid different clubs?

Yes. In the U.S., Real Madrid is first and Barcelona sixth; in the UK, Liverpool and Manchester United lead and Real Madrid barely makes the top ten. American fandom is far more shaped by La Liga and El Clásico.

What is the most-avoided MLS club shirt?

Inter Miami, with 164 requests, the highest of any American club. Since Lionel Messi's arrival it has become both the most-watched and the most-avoided MLS team.

Can I stop a specific team's shirt from arriving?

Yes. When you order a mystery soccer jersey you name the clubs, leagues, countries, or colors you want excluded, and they are kept out of your box.