The Portuguese and Manchester United attacker, Cristiano Ronaldo has amassed 500 million Instagram followers, shattering yet another record.
Touted the World’s G.O.A.T, Ronaldo recently shared a stunning photo of himself together with Argentina;s Lionel Messi that went viral on the internet and sent shockwaves through the football community. Amused fans claim it could be the greatest sports image ever.
Following his appearance in a surprise interview with Piers Morgan last week, the Portugal sensation garnered attention for the wrong reasons the entire time. He made fun of Wayne Rooney, the club’s legendary player, the owners of Manchester United, and manager Erik ten Hag.
Man United are expected to fire Ronaldo after the bombshell interview and released a statement late last week, saying they’ve initiated a process of responding to the five-time Ballon d’Or winner. He is expected to play in his fifth World Cup tournament with Portugal later this month.
On Sunday night, November 20, Ronaldo’s follower count on the photo-sharing application Instagram hit 500 million. That makes him the most followed person on the app in the world. His long-time rival Messi remains the second-most followed person in the world. The two iconic footballers are the only athletes in the top 10 of the most followed people on Instagram, according to Lifestyle Asia.
That is a testament to their expansive reach through the legendary football careers they’ve built over the last 15 years.
In the interview with Morgan, Ronaldo said that he doesn’t chase records; they chase him, according to Goal.Sports Brief earlier reported on Ronaldo and Messi breaking the internet with a spectacular photo. The post, sponsored by Louis Vuitton, went up on Saturday evening via both the Argentina and Portugal footballers’ respective social media handles. Ronaldo’s post is the fastest to reach 10 million likes on the platform.