It has been a week full of records for Portugal football star Cristiano Ronaldo. Earlier in the week, the Al Nassr striker became the first footballer ever to complete 900 career goal during the ongoing UEFA Nations League match and he now stands at 901 strikes currently. On Thursday, Ronaldo became the first person on planet earth to have a combined 1 billion followers across social media platforms.
The 39-year-old star shared the news a day after he began streaming a live follower counter on his new YouTube channel showing that he was approaching the milestone. Ronaldo’s YouTube channel, which launched last month, reached 15 million subscribers on the first day and 50 million within the first week. It is now up to 60.4 million already.
We’ve made history — 1 BILLION followers! This is more than just a number – it’s a testament to our shared passion, drive, and love for the game and beyond.
From the streets of Madeira to the biggest stages in the world, I’ve always played for my family and for you, and now 1… pic.twitter.com/kZKo803rJo
— Cristiano Ronaldo (@Cristiano) September 12, 2024
Ronaldo also has 170.5 million followers on Facebook, 113 million on ‘X’ and less than 10 million each on two Chinese platforms: Weibo and Kuaishou. Ronaldo’s biggest fanbase is on Instagram, where he has 639 million followers – representing roughly 8 per cent of earth’s population. Fellow football star Lionel Messi owns the only other account with a following of at least 500 million and behind him are American celebrities Selena Gomez (424 million), Kylie Jenner (397 million) and Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson (395 million).
Ronaldo has more Instagram followers than every 2024 NBA ‘All-Star’ team combined, a group that includes legends like LeBron James and his 159 million followers and Stephen Curry. The Al-Nassr star recently began his third season in the Saudi Pro League after signing a deal that paid him $215 million in salary in 2023.
His $60 million in off-the-field earnings from endorsements ranked fourth among all active athletes. Overall, Ronaldo raked in $275 million in 2023, more than double any other athlete aside from Spanish golfer Jon Rahm ($203 million).
The international football break this week started with a certain amount of intrigue over the role Ronaldo would have with Portugal after his underwhelming displays at UEFA Euro 2024 and the fact he will be 40 years old early next year. It ended with Ronaldo cementing his status as a continued mainstay in his national team and proof that he still has the scoring instincts to be of huge value for Portugal.
Ronaldo scored against both Croatia and Scotland to take his men’s-record tally of international goals to 132. He started on the bench against the Scots in Lisbon and changed the game when coming on as a halftime substitute.
