One of the surest ways to gauge the relative popularity of various soccer players is to compare how many Instagram followers they have. In 2017, Cristiano Ronaldo became the first athlete from any sport to eclipse the 100-million follower mark. He joined a quartet of female pop stars (Taylor Swift, Beyoncé, Selena Gomez and Ariana Grande) in the ultra-exclusive club. He’s since gone on to become the first athlete to cross the 400 million threshold.
KINGS OF INSTAGRAM
While Ronaldo, Neymar and Lionel Messi are tops on Instagram among footballers, can you name the remaining nine stars in the top twelve? Overall, six of the top-dozen players were born in South America, while five of the remaining six are Europeans.
UPDATED April 5, 2024
12) MOHAMED SALAH
Mohamed Salah Hamed Mahrous Ghaly
Current team: Liverpool
Born June 15, 1992 🇺🇾 Nagrig, Egypt
Instagram followers: 51.3 million
11) LUIS SUAREZ
Luis Alberto Suárez Díaz
Current team: Barcelona
Born January 24, 1987 🇺🇾 Salto, Uruguay
Instagram followers: 43.6 million
10) ZLATAN IBRAHIMOVIC
Zlatan Ibrahimović
Current team: AC Milan
Born October 3, 1981 🇸🇪 Malmo, Sweden
Instagram followers: 54.1 million
9) MARCELO
Marcelo Vieira da Silva Junior
Current team: Real Madrid
Born May 12, 1988 🇧🇷 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Instagram followers: 44.9 million
8) GARETH BALE
Gareth Frank Bale
Current team: Real Madrid
Born July 16, 1989 🇬🇧 Cardiff, Wales
Instagram followers: 47.5 million
7) JAMES RODRIGUEZ
James David Rodríguez Rubio
Current team: Al-Rayyan
Born July 12, 1991 🇨🇴 Cúcuta, Colombia
Instagram followers: 49.5 million
6) RONALDINHO
Ronaldo de Assis Moreira
Last team: Fluminense
Born March 21, 1980 🇧🇷 Porto Alegre, Brazil
Instagram followers: 66.9 million
5) KYLIAN MBAPPE
Kylian Mbappé Lottin
Current team: Paris Saint-Germain
Born December 20, 1998 🇫🇷 Paris, France
Instagram followers: 72.9 million
4) DAVID BECKHAM
David Robert Joseph Beckham
Last team: Paris Saint-Germain
Born May 2, 1975 🇬🇧 London, England
Instagram followers: 74 million
3) NEYMAR
Neymar da Silva Santos Júnior
Current team: Paris Saint-Germain
Born February 5, 1992 🇧🇷 Mogi das Cruzes, Brazil
Instagram followers: 180 million
2) LIONEL MESSI
Lionel Andrés Messi
Current team: Paris Saint-Germain
Born June 24, 1987 🇦🇷 Rosario, Argentina
Instagram followers: 369 million
1) CRISTIANO RONALDO
Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro
Current team: Manchester United
Born February 5, 1985 🇵🇹 Funchal, Madeira, Portugal
Instagram followers: 492 million
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