Lionel Messi has reached yet another incredible milestone in his remarkable career, becoming the second person, after Cristiano Ronaldo, to reach 500 million Instagram followers, Sportskeeda said.
The Argentine football sensation now shares this elite club with his longtime rival, Ronaldo, who presently leads the group with 622 million followers.
The Instagram hierarchy exposes Messi’s towering presence, trailing global icons like Selena Gomez (429 million), Kylie Jenner (400 million), and Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson (397 million).
According to business site Sportico, an incredible 20% of the app’s 2.5 billion active users currently follow Messi, establishing his standing as one of the top names not only in football but across all sports, particularly after his move to Inter Miami in the MLS in the summer of 2023.
Remarkably, Messi’s Instagram followers surpass the combined total of all teams in the five major American sports leagues (NBA, NFL, MLB, NHL, and MLS).
The analysis dives deeper into the demographics of Messi’s followers, indicating that 72% are male, with the bulk coming from Brazil (12%), followed by India (8.1%), Argentina (6.5%), and the United States (6.2%).
In addition to this social media feat, a comparison of Messi and Ronaldo’s starts to the 2024 calendar year shows that both football legends are having success on the pitch.
