Manchester United and Portugal striker, Cristiano Ronaldo has hit a new landmark as he becomes the first footballer and celebrity to reach five hundred million (500 million) followers on Instagram.
It was gathered that the want-away Manchester United star made headlines last week with his two-part bombshell interview with Piers Morgan on TalkTV.
The 37-year-old didn’t hold back as he criticised United’s owner, manager Erik ten Hag, and club legends Wayne Rooney and Gary Neville.
Despite heavy criticism of his interview and the way he conducted himself by many, he has still managed to gain more followers, reaching 500m.
His long-time rival Messi remains the second-most followed person in the world with 376M. The two iconic footballers are the only athletes in the top 10 of the most followed people on Instagram.
Piers Morgan was keen to congratulate the Portuguese superstar, by tweeting: ‘Cristiano Ronaldo becomes first person to reach 500m followers on Instagram, 124m more than his nearest rival in 2nd place… Lionel Messi. Congrats.’
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Kylie Jenner is in third place followed closely behind by Selena Gomez and Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson.
Neymar and Lebron James are two of the most athletes outside of Ronaldo and Messi, although neither are in the top 10.
Ronaldo’s Instagram following shows just how loved he is, despite recent criticism this season.
The former Real Madrid star, however, will not be concerned about his following and is fully focused on the 2022 World Cup in Qatar for now and he is expected to be involved for Portugal against Ghana in their World Cup opener on Thursday.
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The five-time Ballon d’Or winner is aiming to add the World Cup to his already glittering array of honours, having won the Euros with his country in 2016 and likely featuring in his last tournament for his country.
In the ongoing World Cup tournament at Qatar, Portugal will face Ghana, Uruguay and South Korea in Group H.
