Lionel Messi hits 500 million Instagram followers: how many does Cristiano Ronaldo have?

Lionel Messi has become just the second person to reach 500 million followers on Instagram. The Argentine’s move to MLS club Inter Miami has boosted his celebrity in the United States and opened up a new world of commercial opportunities.

The 36-year-old is one of the most famous faces on the planet and his late-career move to Miami has only served to broaden his appeal. Messi led the Herons to the first piece of silverware in club history last season and he has made a promising start to the 2024 campaign.

His incredible popularity has not only translated to full crowds every time Inter Miami play but has also boosted interest in the league as a whole.

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“Messi helped take this league to new heights and gave us momentum on a trajectory that was established in the years leading up to building a league that Messi would want to be a part of,” MLS commissioner Don Garber said recently.

How many Instagram followers does Cristiano Ronaldo have?

For a decade-and-a-half Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo dominated soccer’s global landscape. For seven years they were on opposing sides of Spain’s El Clásico rivalry and their competitive instincts drove them to previously unimaginable heights.

And so, the news that Messi has reached half a billion Instagram followers begs the question: how many does Cristiano Ronaldo have?

Messi is the second-most followed person on Instagram and it’s his old rival that beats him to top spot. Cristiano Ronaldo now boasts an incredible 662 million followers, having been the first person to crack 500 million on Instagram.

Top ten most-followed accounts on Instagram

Ronaldo and Messi are the two most-followed people on Instagram. But neither of the iconic athletes can match the account with the most followers.

The @instagram account, the platform’s own profile, tops the list with 669 million followers. That means that Ronaldo is just 7 million away from holding the outright top spot, so you can be sure that he will be putting extra thought into his captions for the foreseeable.

Here’s the full top ten most-followed accounts...

The two soccer stars are far ahead of the field when it comes to athletes on Instagram. Behind Messi and Ronaldo is Indian cricket player Virat Kohli, who boasts 266 million followers.

The most-followed American athlete on Instagram is NBA legend LeBron James, with a comparatively modest 159 million followers.

For now,Cristiano Ronaldo looks unsurmountable at the peak of Mount Insta. The Portuguese star has more followers than Lionel Messi and LeBron James combined and is continuing to grow his enormous fanbase.