Cristiano Ronaldo has now set an amazing feat and this time it is due to his incredible social media presence. After being named as the world’s highest-paid athlete by Forbes last month, the Portuguese superstar has now emerged as Instagram’s highest earner for the third consecutive year. The list is compiled by Instagram scheduling tool Hopper HQ. It is based on internal and publicly available data on how much every Instagram user charges for a post. The numbers obtained from this list are absolutely mind-boggling. Ronaldo earns $3.23 million per Instagram post. Argentina’s Lionel Messi is second on the list, earning $2.6 million for each post.
The two footballers are miles ahead of other prominent names like singer/actress Selena Gomez, reality star Kylie Jenner and actor Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson. Brazilian footballer Neymar and Indian cricketer Virat Kohli are the other two notable athletes on this elite list.
“It’s still shocking to me that the annual money made on the platform increases every year. Yet, what fascinates me more is the consistent players at the top. It’s apparent that the glitz and glamour of traditional celebrities still holds power over the new ‘influencer’ status. Ronaldo and Messi not only dominate the pitch, but also the digital sphere as it’s clear they personify the power of personal branding and the influence it holds over us ‘ordinary’ people,” Mike Bandar, co-founder of Hopper HQ was quoted as saying by Reuters.
Earlier this year in July, Cristiano Ronaldo topped Forbes’ list of the global highest-paid athletes. Ronaldo achieved this feat for the first time since 2017. It also helped the 38-year-old in winning a Guinness World Records title for the highest annual earnings for an athlete in 2023.
In December last year, Ronaldo became the highest-paid footballer in the history of the game after signing a contract with Saudi Arabian side Al Nassr. The deal will keep him at Al Nassr till June 2025.
Ronaldo has so far scored 18 goals for the Saudi club having made 24 appearances. In his last game, he scored a vital goal to help Al Nassr in reaching the final of the Arab Club Champions Cup. Al Nassr will next be up against Al Hilal in the final of the competition tomorrow. The match will mark Ronaldo’s first appearance in a final since completing his move to Al Nassr last season.
