Manchester United have easily been the most successful club in the Premier League era, and according to the club, that success has translated into them being the most popular club in the world.

According to a survey conducted by market research agency Kantar, United have 659 million followers, almost 10% of the earth's population. Kantar took responses from 54,000 people from 39 countries for the survey.

United said there has been a 98% growth in five years, especially in prime markets like Asia and Africa. The Red Devils have, according to the survey, 325 million followers in Asia, with another 173 million in the Middle East and Africa, 90 million in Europe and 71 million in the Americas. Only 1% of the entire United followers come from the United Kingdom.

"The growth in our followers since 2007 correlates with what we have seen as we have rolled out our new approach to reaching fans," commercial director Richard Arnold said.

"From the increase in TV viewership from two to four billion last season, to the demand from millions of media subscribers in 72 countries through our media partnerships, to the way the footage of Wayne's (Rooney) overhead kick echoed around the world on social media, we can see that the connections to the club are growing exponentially."

Arnold said United's growth would not be affected by the increasing presence of other clubs. "Sir Alex has done a fantastic job over 25 years of making sure we have a young, exciting, attacking team. I have every confidence that trend will continue," Arnold said.

"A successful model off the pitch allows a successful model on the pitch. Teams come and go. At the beginning of Sir Alex's time it was Liverpool, we had a phase of Arsenal vying for contention, then Chelsea.

"This year, we finished our season in first place and City finished winning on goal difference. Competitors come and go over time. The one thing that remains constant is Manchester United. That's why you see this growth in terms of the number of fans and us continuing to be the most popular team in the most popular sport in the world."