El Clásico in a Box: Do American Fans Avoid Real Madrid or Barcelona More?

American soccer fans are split down the middle on El Clásico — and when they order a mystery jersey, they tell us exactly which side they're on.

When you order a mystery soccer jersey from us, you can name the clubs you'd rather not receive. Across 14,388 orders in the past year, two of the six most-avoided clubs in America were Real Madrid and Barcelona — the two halves of the biggest rivalry in world soccer. The gap between them tells a story.

Real Madrid is avoided far more than Barcelona

Real Madrid was the single most-avoided shirt in America, named in 1,444 “shirt to avoid” requests. Barcelona sat sixth, with 967. That means U.S. fans asked us to keep Real Madrid out of the box about 49% more often than Barcelona.

Both are among the most successful and most divisive clubs on earth, so heavy avoidance is no surprise. What's striking is the distance between them — and what it says about who's doing the avoiding.

Why the Clásico shows up in a mystery box

American soccer fandom is shaped heavily by La Liga and by a large, passionate Hispanic fanbase that splits hard between the two clubs. In the raw order notes, the most common single instruction we see is some version of “I'm a Barça fan, please no Real Madrid.” Madridistas ask us to keep Barcelona out; Culés ask us to keep Real Madrid out. One order at a time, El Clásico plays out in our warehouse.

It's an American story, not a British one

This split is specific to the U.S. In the UK version of our study, Real Madrid barely cracks the top ten, and the leaders are Liverpool and Manchester United. In America, Real Madrid runs away with the number one spot and Barcelona lands in the top six. That gap is the clearest sign of how differently La Liga lives in American soccer culture.

How to make sure you never open your rival's shirt

None of this data would exist without the format. Every mystery jersey we send is a surprise — but you stay in control of the part that matters. Name the clubs you'd rather not receive, and a Barça fan never opens a Real Madrid shirt, while a Madridista never opens a Barcelona one. That's how a box can be a genuine surprise and still land right. Start your mystery box here.

See the full ranking

Real Madrid and Barcelona are just two names on a longer list. See where every major club landed in our study of the most-avoided soccer shirts in America, based on all 14,388 orders.

Based on the same 14,388 orders placed on mysteryshirtinabox.us between July 2025 and July 2026 analyzed in our most-avoided study. Figures reflect the number of separate requests naming each club in the free-text “teams to avoid” field at checkout, and are aggregated and anonymized.

Frequently asked questions

Do American fans avoid Real Madrid or Barcelona more?

Real Madrid, by a clear margin. Across 14,388 orders, Real Madrid was named in 1,444 “shirt to avoid” requests versus 967 for Barcelona — about 49% more often — making it the most-avoided club shirt in America and Barcelona the sixth.

Why do U.S. fans avoid Real Madrid so much?

A mix of on-field success and rivalry. American soccer fandom is heavily shaped by La Liga and a large Hispanic fanbase split between Real Madrid and Barcelona, so Clásico loyalties drive a high volume of “no Real Madrid” requests.

Can I make sure I never get a Real Madrid or Barcelona shirt?

Yes. When you order a mystery soccer jersey, you name the specific clubs you want kept out of the box, so committed Clásico fans never open their rival's colors.