 "Messi now has 500 million followers on Instagram; check who is ahead of him")
Lionel Messi just unlocked a new milestone, not on football grounds but on social media this time. The eight-time Ballon d'Or winner as the soccer's best player reached 500 million followers on Instagram this weekend. Messi was already the third-most followed account on Instagram account just behind Instagram and his most heated rival Cristiano Ronaldo.
Messi is the most followed person in the United States as the star of Inter Miami's MLS soccer team.
The most followed account on Instagram is the social media giant’s own account with 669 million followers followed by Portugal footballer Cristiano Ronaldo, the most followed person on Instagram, who has over 663 million followers.
Messi has 20 per cent of 2.5 billion monthly active Instagram users; he has more followers than the combined followers of all NFL players, reported brand data platform KORE. The cumulative total of the 154 teams in the five major US sports leagues has fewer followers than Messi.
The World Cup posts of Lionel Messi are three of the five most popular in the history of the platform and the top one of his celebrating the victory has 76 million engagements. His social media account added 49 million new followers in November and December 2022 and has surpassed 400 million followers on Instagram.
According to a sports news agency Sportico, the 36-year-old ranked third in the 100 most followed athletes of 2023 with $130 million, including 65 million from sponsors. Messi reportedly earned $1.4 billion throughout his career from salaries, bonuses, and endorsements.
10 most followed accounts on Instagram
Here’s the list of 10 most followed accounts on Instagram
- Instagram (669 million followers)
- Cristiano Ronaldo (622 million followers)
- Lionel Messi (500 million followers)
- Selena Gomez (429 million followers)
- Kylie Jenner (400 million followers)
- Dwayne Johnson (396 million followers)
- Ariana Grande (380 million followers)
- Kim Kardashian (364 million followers)
- Beyoncé (319 million followers)
- Khloé Kardashian (311 million followers)
10 most followed accounts on Instagram in India
- Virat Kohli (266 million followers)
- Priyanka Chopra (90.6 million followers)
- Shraddha Kapoor (87.4 million followers)
- Narendra Modi (87 million followers)
- Alia Bhatt (83 million followers)
- Katrina Kaif (79.6 million followers)
- Deepika Padukone (78.6 million followers)
- Neha Kakkar (77.6 million followers)
- Urvashi Rautela (70.3 million followers)
- Jacqueline Fernandez (68.7 million followers)