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Real Madrid have 450m fans; US users top website visits - Butragueno

More visitors to Real Madrid's website come from the United States than any other country, according to the club's director of institutional relations Emilio Butragueno.

Madrid have focused much of their global marketing efforts on the United States in recent years, with the first team visiting various American cities for preseason training and games in each of the last six summers, most recently playing in California, Texas and Michigan in the 2014 International Champions Cup.

Such work on the ground appears to be paying off, with the former Madrid striker -- one of the club's greatest ever players -- telling a publicity event in the Spanish capital that the U.S. topped the list when it came to international visitors to its official club site.

"The first country for visits to our website is the USA," Butragueno said. "Then Colombia, Mexico, Indonesia and India."

Butragueno said Madrid were also huge on social networks, with Indonesia having the most Facebook fans and Colombia the most Twitter followers.

"173 million of our fans follow us [on social media]," Butragueno said. "On Facebook we have 108 million -- Indonesia is the leader with eight million. On Twitter, the countries which follow Madrid most are Colombia, Mexico and Indonesia."

It was claimed that the club's own research showed that around six percent of the world's current population were supporters of Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale, Iker Casillas and company, with Madrid fans in 186 of the world's 193 countries.

"According to our research, we can speak about 450 million fans throughout the world," Butragueno said.

The comments were made at an event in the Spanish capital headlined "Madrid without borders." Mariano Lopez, director of Spanish magazine Viajar (Travel), told those present that no matter where he went in the world he saw evidence of Madrid's global reach.

"In the Burmese jungle, in a dispensary run by Buddhist monks, I go in and I see [Madrid midfielder Toni] Kroos on the television," Lopez recalled. "It turned out they were showing the Spanish Supercopa and the monk had been watching a repeat."