Cristiano Ronaldo is an icon in the world of soccer. Apart from being Portugal’s finest, the player has a lovable fanbase in all the countries he has played in. Even fans in Saudi Arabia cannot get enough of the 5 time Ballon d’Or winner.
Recently during an AFC Champions League fixture, Ronaldo traveled to Iran and could not even open his bus window for more than a few seconds as the fans went crazy upon his arrival. Cristiano is the most followed person on Instagram with over 610 million followers which shows the global appeal of the player.
The four most-followed football players on Instagram playing in the same match 📈
Cristiano Ronaldo – 536M
Lionel Messi – 421M
Neymar Jr. – 201M
Kylian Mbappe – 95M pic.twitter.com/q0AyF7kzSr— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) January 19, 2023
On Twitter and Facebook, he has 110 and 166 million followers respectively. Not only restricted to Europe, Cristiano is a name that echoes all around the world and so is his iconic ‘Siuu’ celebration which has been seen to be performed by athletes from various other sports after securing a victory.
In a poll made by ESPN in 2018, Cristiano Ronaldo came on top ahead of NBA superstar Lebron James and rival Lionel Messi. In 2021 Ronaldo became the first person in the world to reach 500 million followers across Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Ronaldo has also dealt with the most number of pitch invaders out of all the active players which just shows the popularity of the player.
IShowSpeed was a nobody a few years back but thanks to being a fanboy of Ronaldo, he is earning millions. Ronaldo is by far the most popular athlete and soccer player in the world and probably ranks in the Top 10 list among the most famous people in the world.
People who are more famous than Cristiano Ronaldo
The list of people who are more famous than Cristiano is not long but must be quite extensive given the fact that many of the Hollywood stars and some brilliant minds are more popular than the Portuguese captain. Popularity cannot be judged only by social media followers as all age groups are not similarly active on social media.
I’ve seen people bring up Beckham, Henry and other MLS transfers as US soccer game-changers (as a result of Messi to Miami).
And rightfully so, but I think the popularity Pelé brought in 1975 gets understated sometimes. pic.twitter.com/zvAcslvzr9
— Jason Takhtadjian (@realjasonsarkis) June 7, 2023
In the world of soccer, names like Pele, and Maradona are known to all and they are by far more famous than Cristiano while his long-time rival Lionel Messi might not have the same brand appeal but is known to many people around the globe.
Current Facebook and Twitter CEO Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg are more famous than Ronaldo. Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates also come within a shout.
Dwayne ‘The Rock‘ Johnson who is the current highest-paid actor in Hollywood is more popular than Ronaldo considering the fact the first part of his career was in World Wrestling Entertainment. Stars such as Leonardo di Caprio and Tom Cruise are also more well-known.
One of the most famous people in the world I would love to meet like pic.twitter.com/7w0B2D3JJN
— Twi_nx19 (@ArmstrongT24022) October 30, 2023
Performers like Micheal Jackson, The Beatles, Queen, Beyonce, and even Taylor Swift and BTS garner a massive popularity that can challenge or even topple that of Cristiano Ronaldo. Legendary boxer Muhammad Ali is a name that is known to people who have not even heard of the name Cristiano Ronaldo.
Popular Leaders like Barack Obama and the Queen are also more popular than Ronaldo. The sole reason why the aforementioned names have more popularity or are more famous than Cristiano is because they cater to a more general audience while Ronaldo is mostly known to those who follow soccer.