During the UEFA Euro 2020, which was postponed to 2021 because of Covid-19, many headline worthy incidents have occurred. The incident which drew the most attention and hogged headlines was when Cristiano Ronaldo removed the Coca-Cola bottles placed in front of him at a post-match press conference during the tournament. This piece of footage went viral immediately and shocked the world due the influence this superstar has. It’s safe to say that Ronaldo took the “fizz” out of Coke. His simple action cost Coca-Cola $4bn, which made even non-soccer fans eager to know more about him. Of course, there is no better way to find out more about Ronaldo than following him on Instagram. This past June, Ronaldo smashed a record by reaching 300 million followers on Instagram. On top of being the most followed person on Instagram since late 2018, The Portuguese star has also scored the #1 spot on the Instagram “Rich List”. These two facts have also made people wonder about the secret of his strong presence and influence in social media.
Cristiano Ronaldo, in full Cristiano Ronaldo Dos Santos Aveiro, is a 36-year-old Portuguese professional football player. He plays as a forward for the Italian Serie A club Juventus and the national team of Portugal. Like many football stars, Ronaldo experienced extreme poverty in his childhood. For Ronaldo, CR7 football came first, even at the cost of school. He was expelled from school at age 14 after throwing a chair at his teacher who said that he had disrespected him. Ronaldo’s story with football started at age of 8 at Andorinha football academy, where his father took a second job as a kit man. His first professional contract was with Sporting Lisbon which transferred him to Manchester United where he rose to fame. In 2009, his transfer to Real Madrid was a world-record. The contract's deal was $131.5m which at the time made him the most expensive player. He spent 9 seasons in Real Madrid. There, he won nearly all possible trophies collectively and individually which engraved his name among the legends of the game. In 2018, he signed for Juventus, his current team, in a transfer worth $100m which is unprecedented for a player over 30-years-old.
After he made Euro championship history as the all-time top scorer of the tournament following a brace against Hungary, Ronaldo was at the same time getting crowned the king of Instagram after reaching a milestone of 300m followers as the first person to run into this number on the platform. Ronaldo broke this record just after his controversial incident with Coca-Cola. His account has already been witnessing a rapid increase in followers. In June 2020, he was the first person on the visual platform to make it to 200m followers. By the end of 2020, he had another 44m followers added to his account. In February 2021 his followers number rose to 271m. On June 18, 2021, he then hit the 300m mark which constitutes nearly one-third of the one billion monthly-users of the app. This means that he gained 100m followers in one year. From June 18th until July 7th, he gained another 10m, which means that hitting 400m by the beginning of next year is within the realm of possibility. Ronaldo is certainly the most followed public figure on Instagram but, his account is not #1 on the platform. Instagram’s official company account holds the top spot on the platform with 404m followers and counting. After the official Instagram company account comes Ronaldo. His competitors, which he is significantly ahead of, includes Dwyane Jonson (251m) and Ariana Grande (249m). Ronaldo’s rival, Lionel Messi, ranks 7th on the list with 227 million Instagram followers.
Around the time Ronaldo hit 200m followers on Instagram, there were some reports that stated there were bots associated with his account. It was found that like many other mega-stars on Instagram, Ronaldo did have a percentage of suspicious accounts following him. But most of his fame really points to a simple formula that many mega-stars on Instagram follow: a diverse fan base and withholding a degree of their life from the public. At the end of the day, whether there are bots associated with Ronaldo’s account or not, his engagement rate of 2.79% speaks for itself. Due to his high status on the platform, advertisers look at his account as a massive billboard. Companies across the globe work tirelessly to get a post endorsement from him. Ronaldo’s approach to partnerships on Instagram is quite different from other athletes. He is very strategic in who he partners with and only produces high-quality content that truly resonates with his brand. With a following of 311m users, nearly the population of the United States, Ronaldo is the top paid influencer on Instagram. The current rate to post on Ronaldo’s Instagram is $1.6m. This makes him the first footballer to top the Instagram “Rich List” which is usually dominated by American celebrities from the reality tv, music and film industries. Historically Ronaldo had been ranked within the top five since the list was first published yet it was just recently that he hit this whopping figure. The going rate for a post in his account used to be $889,000. Within a year this figure jumped to $1.6m which means his annual income from Instagram posts will go well beyond $40m. Ronaldo’s Instagram annual income is much higher than his salary with the Italian Club Juventus. In the recent release of the Instagram “Rich List” Ronaldo leapfrogged past Dwayne Johnson (1.015m) and Ariana Grande’s (1.51m) per sponsored post fees.
Over the years, Cristiano Ronaldo has accumulated a massive audience across social media (Facebook, Twitter and Instagram) estimated at more than 550 million followers. Revenue from social media was one of the reasons he became the first footballer to earn $1bn. This status did not come out of the blue. The major reason Ronaldo’s achieved such success on social media is because he's a very skilled player and is classified among all time icons of the game. Since football is the most popular sport across the globe and Ronaldo is one of the greatest to ever grace the game, it’s only natural that he has accumulated so many followers. Cristiano Ronaldo’s been named the best football player in the world 5 times. The only other player to have this honor is Lionel Messi with 6 times. During the pandemic people have been stuck at home and life on the planet virtually halted. This drove people to choose social media as an alternative to keep up with their idol celebrities. Ronaldo’s audience on Instagram has grown by 111 million followers since January 2020, a 37% increase. The Juventus star, apart from football, is also a successful model. He is deemed the second generation of Beckhanism. Ronaldo’s career inspired many people with his success in sports and business. Only time will tell if Ronaldo will be able to maintain this trajectory of success on Instagram, but for now, his strategy is working extremely well.