Lionel Messi is cashing in on his World Cup success on Instagram – unlike Cristiano Ronaldo

Soccer star Lionel Messi stands to earn millions from sponsored Instagram posts following his World Cup success with Argentina, and could even surpass his great rival Cristiano Ronaldo.

Since lifting the World Cup on December 18, Messi’s official Instagram accountwho has 414 million followers, has promoted Budweiser beer, Call of Duty and eFootball video games, Gatorade energy drink, Bitget cryptocurrency exchange, and artificial eyeglasses firm Orcam.

It suggests Messi’s backers are clamoring for paid partnerships to capitalize on his World Cup glory with the star earning more than £9m so far.

Messi promotes the artificial glasses company OrCam in a sponsored post on his Instagram account, which has 414 million followers worldwide.

The Argentine star appears in an ad for the sports energy drink Gatorade in another publication.

Another brand post saw Messi plugging in the popular Call of Duty video game series.

By contrast, Ronaldo hasn’t posted a single paid partnership for his 528 million Instagram followers since Portugal knocked out the World Cup against Morocco on December 10.

Ronaldo’s dismal World Cup could affect his status as the highest-earning Instagram celebrity, with Messi poised to surpass him.

Ronaldo, 37, overcame Hopper’s Latest Instagram Rich List, earning around $2.4 million (£2 million) per brand post. That had skyrocketed from around £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.

Messi’s rival Cristiano Ronaldo, by contrast, has not posted any sponsorship commitments since Portugal were knocked out of the World Cup by Morocco.

Messi’s sponsor, Budweiser beer, capitalized on the Argentine’s World Cup achievement.

In another publication, Messi promoted the video game EFootball 2023 wearing the colors of Argentina

Messi was third on Hopper’s list, taking $1.77m (£1.5m) per brand post on Instagram, but his World Cup success, which confirmed him as the greatest footballer of all times in the eyes of many, could reduce the gap with Ronaldo.

The two footballers are split by American celebrity Kylie Jenner, who has 377m followers and rakes in around $1.8m (£1.52m) per post.

Messi and Ronaldo’s Instagram revenue dwarfs that of the next highest ranked athlete, Indian cricketer Virat Kohli, whose cost per sponsored post is $1.08 million (£902,000).

Messi, 35, 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.

Lionel Messi’s photo of him lifting the World Cup trophy has become the most-liked Instagram image of all time, surpassing the image of an egg.

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

Paris Saint-Germain star Messi is also backed by Adidas, PepsiCo, socios.com, Sorare, Byju’s and Louis Vuitton.

In fact, Messi and Ronaldo posed together playing chess for the luxury fashion brand ahead of the World Cup in Qatar.

A post showing Messi curled up in bed with the World Cup trophy attracted more than 50 million likes

Messi and Ronaldo posed together playing chess in an advertisement for the fashion brand Louis Vuitton

Ronaldo’s lucrative transfer to Al Nassr has made him the highest-earning player in world sport, surpassing Messi and basketball star LeBron James.

Messi earns £103.4m a year, but this will be dwarfed by Ronaldo’s new salary, not to mention his off-pitch endorsements.

Argentina beat France on penalties in a thrilling final to win the World Cup for the third time. Messi scored seven goals during the tournament, including two in the final, and was second only to Frenchman Kylian Mbappe on the goalscoring list.

His performances earned him the Ballon d’Or award for the best player in the World Cup.