As if winning the UEFA Champions League and Euro 2016 were not enough, Cristiano Ronaldo ruled the roost even on social media in 2016. The Portuguese made the top three posts on Facebook and top five posts on Instagram this year, among all sportspersons in the world.
According to social media analytics tool, Crowd Tangle, these eight posts alone managed 34 million user interactions on the respective platforms.
Ronaldo’s top Facebook post was a picture of him holding aloft the Euro 2016 trophy, after the Iberians’ long wait for major international silverware was ended with a 1-0 win over France in the final of Euro 2016.
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The post alone had more than 7.4 million interactions on Facebook.
The second best post on Facebook from the 31-year-old was a picture of him and his son celebrating Ronaldo Jr.’s birthday.
The Portuguese could not complete a clean sweep as the top Twitter post by a sportsperson was by Simone Biles, the American gymnast. The top football post on Twitter was Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s confirmation of his move to Manchester United.
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But on Instagram, it was all Ronaldo. The top 5 posts involved Ronaldo, the Euro 2016 trophy, the Portugal team and the Portuguese superstar’s meeting with Hollywood actor Jason Statham.
The popularity - the ranking of each post on social media is done through fixed parameters. For Facebook, it is based on the likes, reactions, shares and comments. On Twitter, the popularity is measured by the likes and the retweets and on Instagram, it is down to the number of likes and the number of comments on each post.
This has been a terrific year for Ronaldo, both on an individual level and as far as his teams’ performances are concerned.
It started off in May with Real Madrid winning the Champions League, with the Portuguese scoring the winning penalty as Atletico Madrid were sent packing once again. But the sweetest triumph for Ronaldo would have to be winning Euro 2016 with his country.
He captained Portugal and scored the opening goal in the semifinal against Wales as Portugal went on their way. He was injured and had to go off after 24 minutes in the final, but Eder’s goal in extra time ensured victory.
Ronaldo also won France Football Magazine’s Ballon d'Or for the best player in the world and is favourite to win the FIFA Player of the Year award, when it is announced on the 9th of January.
