Cristiano Ronaldo hits 500 million Instagram followers after posting ad featuring Lionel Messi

Football fans carry large posters of footballers Brazil’s Neymar Junior (left), Ronaldo and Messi to a social club in Kolkata on Nov 19, 2022, ahead of the start of the Qatar 2022 World Cup football tournament. Ronaldo’s latest ad campaign appears to have boosted the number of followers for his Instagram account, making it second only to Meta’s. — AFP

Cristiano Ronaldo became the first person to pass 500 million followers on Instagram after posting a Louis Vuitton ad featuring himself and fellow football player, Lionel Messi.

The only account with more followers is Meta Platforms Inc-owned Instagram’s official page, a spokesperson for the social media website confirmed. Argentina’s Messi is the second-most-popular celebrity with 376 million followers, according to his account’s statistics. He’s closely followed by Kylie Jenner, with 372 million.