Cristiano Ronaldo chose Riyadh, and Lionel Messi took to Miami. They may have quit soccer on European soil, but their influence on the game remains unchanged. Now, while some may argue that Messi is outperforming Ronaldo on the pitch, the 5x Ballon d’Or winner is acing a different race altogether.

It’s the social media race. Ronaldo joined Al Nassr for a two-and-a-half-year contract valued at $500 million from Manchester United last season. The move to the Gulf helped Ronnie bag more followers than any other athlete in the course of the year. Interestingly, it surpassed Lionel Messi’s numbers by a staggering 6 million, solidifying the Portuguese’s status as one of the most famous soccer players to grace the pitch.

Cristiano Ronaldo is on top of his social media game!

Cristiano Ronaldo is the most sought-after individual on Instagram, boasting over 600 million followers. According to the Football Benchmark via SafeBettingSites, the enigmatic forward saw a surge of 143.7 million new followers while Lionel Messi experienced a substantial growth of 138 million in the past year. This increased Ronaldo’s overall social media followers, with 888 million and Messi garnered 611.2 million followers.

The analysis encompassed widely from Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, TikTok and Weibo. This highlighted the global fascination for soccer icons compared to the popularity of any other social media influencers across various platforms.

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However, Mr. Champions League outplayed the 7x Ballon d’Or winner in this race with their number of followers. Meanwhile, Al Nassr and Inter Miami also witnessed a significant boost in their social media presence, underscoring the immense popularity of their world-class signing.

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Inter Miami & Al Nassr got popular with their iconic players: Millions of new followers

The Herons and Al Alami experienced a significant surge in social media following their signing of the soccer icons. In the wake of CR7’s announcement, Al Nassr’s Instagram count skyrocketed from 860k to 6 million followers in just two days.

Meanwhile, Inter Miami saw a remarkable growth from 1 million to 6.1 million within a day after announcing Lionel Messi in their squad. It was more than any NFL, MLB, and MLS club in America.

As of now, Al Nassr boasts 19.1 million followers while Inter Miami has 15 million on Instagram. Therefore, Cristiano Ronaldo’s influence garnered greater focus toward the club as compared to Messi for the Herons.

Do you think Lionel Messi can cross CR7’s social media game in the upcoming years? Comment below and let us know.

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