Cristiano Ronaldo continues to edge out World Cup hero Lionel Messi in Instagram Rich List

Cristiano Ronaldo’s hold on the top spot on the soccer Instagram rich list has continued as he continues to keep rival Lionel Messi at bay.

Ronaldo, who boasts 528m followers on the photo and video-sharing app, earns around $2.4m (£2m) per brand post, according to Hopper’s wealthy list of 2022. That had skyrocketed from about £1.16 million per post in the 2021 ranking.

The Portuguese striker, who just signed a £175 million a year contract with Saudi Arabian club Al Nassr after leaving Manchester United, promotes brands including Nike, Clear shampoo, Louis Vuitton, Bitcoin exchange Binance and Livescore app.

Ronaldo hasn’t published a paid partnership post since Nov. 22 when he was showing off a watch from Jacob & Co, an American jewelry and wristwatch retailer.

However, Ronaldo’s status as arguably the most marketable athlete on the planet is under threat from Messi following Argentina’s World Cup victory last month.

Messi is one of the most in-demand footballers anywhere in the world right now after his World Cup win in Qatar and brands are desperate to get access to him.

The PSG star has 414 million followers on Instagram and already counts brands such as Budweiser beer, Call of Duty and eFootball video games, energy drink Gatorade, crypto exchange Bitget and artificial glasses firm Orcam as companies he has promoted.

Behind Ronaldo and Messi is Argentinian teammate at PSG Neymar, who earns close to £784,000 per mark post.

Neymar’s latest brand post saw him promoting the Blaze casino and his collaboration with them on Boxing Day. The post garnered more than 3.8 million likes.

Ronaldo, Messi and Neymar are three of the most famous stars among active players, but it’s two retired icons that round out the top five on the rich list.

Former Manchester United and Real Madrid winger David Beckham sits fourth, earning £330,000 per brand post, while Brazilian Ronaldinho rounds out the top five, earning just under £300,000 per post.

Beckham is a frequent billboard and his latest promotion has seen him promote the Tudor Watch company.

Haig Club, EA Sports and adidas are among the other brands that frequently appear on Beckham’s account, which has 76.8 million followers.

The other five players in the top 10 are still playing and outspoken striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic narrowly edge out Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah as they sit sixth and seventh respectively.

Gareth Bale, Luis Suárez and Toni Kroos complete the top 10.

Ronaldo may be on top, but Messi is the man of the hour when it comes to Instagram right now.

The 35-year-old made social media history when an Instagram photo of him lifting the World Cup trophy became the most-liked post ever.

It has amassed more than 75 million likes since it was posted on December 18, surpassing the image of an egg posted by British advertising executive Chris Godfrey in 2019.

A subsequent post of Messi in bed with the World Cup trophy after the team returned to Argentina garnered more than 50 million likes.