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The Most Popular Football Players on the Planet
It’s no surprise that some of the most talented players in the modern game are also the most popular. Here are five of the biggest household names worldwide.
Results come and go but individual moments of magic stay in the mind forever. For some football fans, the exploits of a particular player can engender almost as much devotion as they give to their own team itself – indeed, 13% of fans say that they chose their team based on one particular player.
It’s no surprise that some of the most talented and decorated players in the modern game are also among the most popular celebrities anywhere in the world, with astonishing numbers of people following international superstars on social media. Here are five of the biggest household names worldwide.
Lionel Messi
Hailed by many as arguably the greatest to ever play the game, the Argentina international forward has been in electrifying form this season – his second since joining French giants Paris Saint-Germain.
The former Barcelona man has no official Twitter account to compare his popularity to other megastars but commands a massive 368 million followers on Instagram.
Cristiano Ronaldo
Of course, one can’t mention Messi without also talking about his great rival, Cristiano Ronaldo. The 37-year-old might not be having a happy time in his second spell with Manchester United but that doesn’t stop him from being the single most-followed person on Instagram, footballer or otherwise! His 490m followers there makes even his incredible 104m Twitter followers seem tiny.
While not quite in the same league in terms of numbers as Messi and Ronaldo, Liverpool frontman Mohamed Salah stands proudly as Africa’s most popular footballer. The Egyptian, who has won six major trophies during his barnstorming time with the Reds, boasts 53.2m Instagram followers and a further 17.3m on Twitter.
Kylian Mbappe
Another PSG forward is certainly in the conversation when it comes to being the most popular player on the planet, with Mbappe’s numbers ticking up almost as quickly as he can run. The 23-year-old has 72.8m fans on Instagram plus 8.8m on Twitter – and who knows how much more will follow if he can achieve the near-unprecedented feat of winning consecutive World Cup trophies this winter.
Though he doesn’t yet have the follower numbers to compete with the names above – his Instagram has a very respectable 19.9m followers with another 3.1m on Twitter – Haaland’s star is on the rise since his summer move to Manchester City. The goals just don’t stop coming – and if that remains the case, you can expect to see the frighteningly potent Norwegian become a global icon.
