Credit: Twitter
Al-Nassr forward Cristiano Ronaldo has become the first person to have 600 million followers on Instagram. The Portuguese star is not only, one of the most followed footballers but also, among the most famous and influential celebrities in the world. Arguably, Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are the two most recognised sportspeople in the world, and also the most influential because of their reach and widespread popularity.
Figures like Tom Brady and Virat Kohli are no doubt also famous, but their following is generally concentrated within their countries or their sports, Messi and Ronaldo transcend football in a way that very few have managed so far.
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Among the four of them, Ronaldo is probably the most famous, or at least the most followed on social media. Nothing highlights this better than the fact that the Portuguese player has achieved 600 million followers on Instagram, something no Individual has achieved before. He is also the most followed person in the world, ahead of Lionel Messi and Selena Gomez. He first made his name at Manchester United, where he was transformed from a Portuguese wonder kid into a Champions League and Ballon d’Or winning forward. His move to Real Madrid brought not only more trophies but also more attention and star power.
It has to be emphasized just how marketable Ronaldo is. Not only he is one of the greatest players in the history of the sport, but his playing style and position also lend themselves to admiration. Possessing a ton of flair, speed, and decisiveness on the ball, he embodies a way of playing football that kids dream of wanting to emulate. Add to his notoriously high work ethic and obsession with being the best, and it's easy to see why so many follow the player.
Ronaldo highest per-post earner on Instagram
Along with being the person with the highest following on the social media platform, Ronaldo is also the highest earner through Instagram on a per-post basis. The 38-year-old charges a whopping GBP 1.87 million per sponsored post putting him well ahead of other Instagram giants like Kylie Jenner and Lionel Messi, who earn GBP 1.47 million and GBP 1.38 million per post respectively.
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Despite his high earnings per post and massive following, it is his counterpart Lionel Messi who holds the record for the most-liked photo in Instagram history with a picture of the triumphant Argentine holding up the World Cup trophy in Qatar. The post beat out the infamous egg photo and was crowned number one earlier this year with almost 76 million likes.
