The 10 most influential footballers have been revealed ahead of the 2022 World Cup.
Cristiano Ronaldo has come out on top in a study of the world’s 10 most influential footballers on Instagram.
According to analysts Nielsen Gracenote, Ronaldo has had a 48% increase in Instagram followers in the last 12 months. The Manchester United superstar also earns over $3.5 million per post on the social media platform.
Paris Saint-Germain trio Lionel Messi, Neymar, and Kylian Mbappe are next on the list with a combined following of 610.5 million. The Ligue 1 forwards all make over $1 million per post.
Interestedly, 
Real Madrid’s Vinicius Junior and Chelsea’s 
N’Golo Kante don’t have nearly as many followers as most of the players on this list. But the pair earn more money than a lot of them for every post they produce.
Nielsen Gracenote based its rankings on a player’s total follower count, growth in followers, engagement rate, and average value per post.
Top 10 most influential footballers on Instagram
| Player | Club | Followers | Value per post | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Cristiano Ronaldo | Man Utd | 480m | $3,585,218 |
| 2. | Lionel Messi | PSG | 360m | $2,631,388 |
| 3. | Neymar | PSG | 178m | $1,152,495 |
| 4. | Kylian Mbappe | PSG | 72.5m | $1,173,157 |
| 5. | Vinicius Junior | Real Madrid | 23m | $685,120 |
| 6. | Karim Benzema | Real Madrid | 58m | $489,239 |
| 7. | Paulo Dybala | AS Roma | 49m | $491,547 |
| 8. | N’Golo Kante | Chelsea | 14m | $525,178 |
| 9. | Paul Pogba | Juventus | 55m | $407,542 |
| 10. | Sergio Ramos | PSG | 53m | $368,639 |
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