Five days after winning the race to sign Ademola Lookman, ahead of Fernabache, Atletico Madrid witnessed what fans are calling “Lookman effect”: as the club surpassed 600,000 new followers since Lookman’s arrival.
On February 2nd, Atletico announced Ademola Lookman, and five days later, the effect was in full force with 600,000 new followers across their social media.
The Lookman Effect: Talent Meets Strategy
Lookman’s arrival coincides with Atletico Madrid’s global strategy to win new fans across new markets.
Atleti received recognition as the Best Global Approach award for its internationalisation strategy at the 2025 FBIN Excellence Awards.
The 2025 FBIN (Football Business Inside) Excellence Awards celebrate top innovations in the football industry across Commercial, Marketing, and Management categories on November 25, 2025.
The La Liga club has established itself as one of the fastest-growing clubs globally in terms of social media reach and engagement.
Update: 1,000,000+
And now it’s about to explode 📈
No matter how the season ends, the signing of Lookman is historic.
This team needs more dribblers, and he just opened the door of Atletico Madrid to best dribblers.
And the most impressive Lookman skill is decision making. 🇳🇬🦅 https://t.co/EkIVXDzjQ7— Albiceleste Atlético Madrid 🇦🇷 (@atm_albiceleste) February 13, 2026
The Lookman Effect Hit 1,000,000+ Mark
And now it’s about to explode as the rise surpassed the 1 million mark and counting.
Driving the rise is Lookman’s 200 million citizens of Nigeria, who hold the former CAF African Footballer of the Year winner
Additionally, his performance at the 2025 AFCON, where he scored three goals and four assists, won more supporters.
Immediate Impact
Since his arrival, Ademola has hit the ground running, scoring two goals in three games and one assist.
Furthermore, the peak of his performance came in the Copa del Rey semi-final, first-leg against Barcelona.
No matter how the season ends, the signing of Lookman is historic oth on and off the field for Atletico Madrid.
On recruitment, the transfer shows Coach Simeone needs a change of philosophy, bringing in more dribblers, and Ademola just opened the door for more.