Cristiano Ronaldo, Twitter’s most followed athlete, LOSES his blue tick as new rules are enforced

Cristiano Ronaldo lost his blue tick on Twitter despite being the platform’s most followed athlete.

The Portuguese superstar has 108.3 million followers on Elon Musk’s social media site, but the footballer no longer has the “legacy verified checkmark” previously used to confirm the validity of official accounts.

Twitter installed new rules which meant a number of accounts lost their blue checks regardless of their fame, and Ronaldo is one of those who is no longer verified, despite being the most followed footballer on the platform.

Users can pay an $8 (£6.46) monthly subscription to sign up for Twitter Blue, which comes with the blue tick, along with access to other features such as longer video uploads and an edit button.

But many have taken offense at Musk’s money-making tactics and have chosen not to contribute to the billionaire’s coffers, following his $44bn (£38.1bn) takeover of Twitter in October 2022.

The superstar’s blue check was removed after he decided not to sign up for Twitter Blue

Twitter owner Elon Musk paid the $8 a month to keep LeBron James verified on the site

Musk stated that he himself paid $8 to keep the verified blue check on basketball superstar LeBron James, as well as author Stephen King and actor William Shatner.

James previously stated that he had no intention of paying for the subscription to keep his blue check, forcing Musk to explain the situation to confused users.

But it seems the 51-year-old’s generosity didn’t extend to Twitter’s most-followed athlete, Ronaldo.

Ronaldo’s popularity has remained high after spells at top clubs Manchester United, Real Madrid and Juventus.

The 38-year-old currently plays his club football in Saudi Arabia’s top division with Al-Nassr, earning £173 million a year, so the cost of the monthly subscription isn’t an issue.

Verified ticks have been used on Twitter since 2009, after St. Louis Cardinals manager Anthony La Russa sued the site through a scammer account.

Ronaldo’s popularity has remained high after spells at top clubs, including Man United

Gary Lineker keeps his blue check on Twitter so he can access the site’s edit button

Removing the blue ticks has led to concerns that impersonation attempts will increase, and it will also lead to a bigger wave of misinformation.

BBC football presenter Gary Lineker has retained the blue tick because he’s been ‘paying for it for a while’stating earlier in April that he only paid the monthly subscription to keep access to Twitter’s elusive edit button.

Manchester City duo Aymeric Laporte and Riyad Mahrez tweeted Thursday that they had no intention of paying the charges – and their sign is now absent.

American Olympian Lolo Jones said that while she is no longer verified on Twitter, she is on her dating profile.