Celtic vs Rangers Has Been Named The Biggest Rivalry In World Football In Fan Vote
Celtic vs Rangers has been voted the biggest rivalry in world football by an absolute landslide.
The Old Firm Derby will always provide fireworks in Glasgow, no matter how many times it's played per season.
Political and religious undertones ensure every single game is a bitter affair with tackles flying all over the show.
SPORTbible's poll saw 37% of over 47,000 votes choose Celtic vs Rangers as football's ultimate rivalry.
Coming in second was Manchester United vs Liverpool with the English giants being two of the biggest clubs in the world.
United have dominated most of the Premier League era, but have slipped behind their rivals over the last decade following Sir Alex Ferguson's retirement.
Boca Juniors vs River Plate, a rivalry so fierce it saw a cup final delayed, only ranks in third.
Coming bottom is El Clasico with voters not seeing Barcelona vs Real Madrid at that top level.
Check out the full voting breakdown below:
- Celtic vs Rangers: 37.1 per cent
- Manchester United vs Liverpool: 25.2 per cent
- River Plate vs Boca Juniors: 19.7 per cent
- Real Madrid vs Barcelona: 17.4 per cent
What is the biggest rivalry in world football?
— SPORTbible (@sportbible) February 2, 2022
Celtic hosted Rangers at Celtic Park on Wednesday evening and ran out dominant 3-0 winners after three goals in the first half.
January arrival Reo Hatate scored twice and Liel Abada bagged to give Ange Postecoglou's a comfortable lead.
The Bhoys are now above Rangers in the Scottish Premiership by one point and midfielder Matt O'Riley was in awe at the support.
"Yes I can’t compare that to anything I’ve ever been in, no, no chance," the 21-year-old told Celtic TV.
"I can’t actually hear my own voice right now so that says enough. No it’s mental, a crazy experience. I’m actually struggling to put it into words.
"But honestly, in terms of fans in the world, I think we’ve got the best fans in the world honestly. After that night – I’ve never seen anything like it in my life. I’ve been to a lot of football games, Champions League games, but that, even for a Scottish Premiership game, it’s crazy so thank you to the fans for that because it was mental."
Even the Celtic ball boys had a bit of fun and managed to rattle opposing manager Giovanni van Bronckhorst with their time wasting.
Daniel Marland