CRISTIANO RONALDO is the most influential footballer in the world and his social media posts are worth more than £3million.
The Portuguese, 37, is the most followed person on Instagram with 480m devotees.
That number has risen by a staggering 48 per cent in the last year alone and means he is far more popular than any other footballer – even Lionel Messi.
Ronaldo’s follower count is tremendously lucrative too – each post has a media value of £3.1m according to analysts Nielsen Gracenote.
Messi is a distant second but the pair are in a world of their own compared to the rest of the top ten – just as they have been on the pitch over the last 15 years.
Nielsen Gracenote compiled a list of the most influential footballers who will feature at the World Cup.
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Messi’s Paris Saint-Germain team-mates Neymar and Kylian Mbappe follow him in third and fourth place respectively.
That trio, as well as CR7, are the only players in the world who boast a seven-figure value per post.
Real Madrid Vinicius Jr rounds off the top five but as the youngest player inside the top ten his influence is only likely to increase.
Los Blancos striker Karim Benzema is ranked next despite having 35m more followers than Vinicius.
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Two other French players make the list with N’Golo Kante and Paul Pogba placed eighth and ninth respectively.
Kante has won the World Cup, Premier League and Champions League but he is still not as influential on social media as Roma’s Paulo Dybala who ranks seventh.
Jado Sancho is rated as the most influential Englishman but there is no place for any Three Lions star inside the top ten, which is rounded off with another PSG player – Sergio Ramos.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
