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The advent and subsequent proliferation of social media has been undeniably widespread and is further enhanced by relatively easy access to the internet. These platforms have become a part of day-to-day lives and their general influence in the world is extraordinary.
Among these platforms, Instagram has quickly become a crowd favorite, especially in the world of sport as it allows fans to get a closer look than ever at their beloved sport stars. This has also opened up an entirely new facet of marketing because of the sheer reach one can get on Instagram. When a popular sport star endorses a product, brand or service on Instagram, it gains immense traction in a remarkably short time, thereby enhancing its potency.
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Among celebrities and influencers, Instagram is now a lucrative source of revenue, and top footballers are often atop the food chain. To explain just how lucrative this particular platform can be, consider this: Cristiano Ronaldo earns more revenue by posting on Instagram than he does by playing club football.
Naturally, players with the most number of followers are bound to get the best deals and bring in the big bucks, providing players an additional incentive to be present on social media, to engage with their fans, and to constantly build their respective fan bases.
In this listicle, we take a look at the top 10 active footballers with the most followers on Instagram. The figures are as per Transfermarkt, and are as of the end of 2020.
#10 Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid, Spain)
Number of Instagram followers (end of 2020): 42.5 million followers
Sergio Ramos is one of the most popular footballers in the world at the moment. The Real Madrid and Spain captain has established himself as one of the best defenders of this generation, while also contributing in attack far more frequently than most other defenders.
A holder of several club and national records, the 34-year-old is currently playing his 16th season at Real Madrid and has helped Los Blancos win 22 major trophies including 5 LaLiga titles and 4 UEFA Champions League titles.
Ramos has represented the Spanish national team since 2005, holding the record for most appearances (178) by a player for the country's national team. With Spain, Ramos is a FIFA World Cup winner and a two-time Euros winner.
#9 Paul Pogba (Manchester United, France)
Number of Instagram followers (end of 2020): 42.6 million followers
Paul Pogba is widely regarded as one of the best midfielders in the world despite failing to be as consistent as he would probably like. A talented and entertaining player, the 27-year-old holds the record for being the most expensive incoming transfer to the Premier League after Manchester United paid €105 million for him.
Pogba has represented France 75 times so far and was instrumental in their 2018 FIFA World Cup victory. He subsequently received the Legion of Honor - the highest honor of merit given to someone in French society - alongside the rest of the team.
#8 Gareth Bale (Tottenham Hotspur, Wales)
Number of Instagram followers (end of 2020): 43.7 million followers
Real Madrid's wantaway superstar, Gareth Bale, is currently on loan at Tottenham Hotspur. While he may have fallen from grace at Madrid, he still remains a widely followed footballer.
After breaking through at Tottenham Hotspur as a teenager, he moved to Real Madrid in 2013 and went on to achieve great things. At one point in time, Bale was undeniably among the five best footballers in the world and spent his time terrorizing defenses of the teams he played against.
In his 7 years at Madrid, he helped the side win the UEFA Champions League 4 times and LaLiga twice, among a total of 13 major trophy wins.
Bale has also been a crucial player for Wales, and has been named the Welsh Footballer of the Year six times - a record.
#7 Kylian Mbappe (Paris Saint-Germain, France)
Number of Instagram followers (end of 2020): 45.8 million followers
You know a player is truly special if he's one of the best in the world at the age of 22. There has never quite been any doubt about Kylian Mbappe. Ever since the spotlight fell on him, he has grown from strength to strength, establishing himself among the best in the world.
Despite his age, Mbappe has played 204 official matches at club level so far, scoring 131 goals and assisting 74 more. Now playing in just his 4th season for Paris Saint-Germain, he has already scored the fourth-highest number of goals in the club's history.
The striker has represented France since 2017 and played a massive role in their victory at the 2018 FIFA World Cup. Mbappe became the youngest French player to score a goal at the big stage and went on to score a total of 4 goals in the competition. He subsequently received the FIFA World Cup Best Young Player Award.
With time on his side, this is just a sign of things to come.
#6 Zlatan Ibrahimovic (AC Milan)
Number of Instagram followers (end of 2020): 46.0 million followers
Where does one even begin when talking about AC Milan superstar, Zlatan Ibrahimovic?
A self-proclaimed god of the football world, Zlatan has repeatedly proved that he is the human embodiment of the world 'Legend'. As he would probably put it, Zlatan is not a legend. Legend is Zlatan.
The Swedish striker is one of the best strikers to have ever graced the game. Among all currently active players, only Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi have scored more goals than Ibrahimovic.
An ultimate journeyman, he has played for a host of top clubs including Barcelona, Manchester United, PSG, Juventus and both Milan clubs. Over a career that has spanned more than 20 years, Ibrahimovic has won more than 30 major trophies.
He represented Sweden for 16 years before retiring in 2016. He remains the country's top goal-scorer of all time, and was named the country's best player (and awarded the Guldbollen) a record 12 times - 10 of which were consecutive.
Now, at the age of 39, he has still showed no sign of slowing down. Additionally, his personality and confidence have essentially made him a symbol and a dearly beloved footballer.
#5 Marcelo (Real Madrid, Brazil)
Number of Instagram followers (end of 2020): 46.1 million followers
Widely regarded as one of the best left-backs in football history, Marcelo plies his trade for Real Madrid and the Brazil national team.
Now playing in his 15th season at Real Madrid, Marcelo has forged his name into the legendary club's history books, winning 22 major trophies with Los Blancos. This includes 5 LaLiga titles and 4 UEFA Champions League titles.
The 32-year-old has also played 58 times for Brazil, and has won a Bronze and a Silver Medal at the Olympics.
#4 James Rodriguez (Everton, Colombia)
Number of Instagram followers (end of 2020): 46.6 million followers
James Rodriguez took the world by storm at the 2014 FIFA World Cup as he notched 6 goals and 2 assists in just 5 matches and went on to be awarded the Golden Boot. Since then, the Colombian has played for Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Everton.
Revered in Colombia, James boasts a massive following on Instagram. With 46.6 million followers on the social media platform, he has more followers than any of the 20 Premier League clubs. His current club, Everton, only has around 2 million. Real Madrid and Barcelona are the only clubs to have more followers than the 29-year-old.
#3 Neymar (Paris Saint-Germain, Brazil)
Number of Instagram followers (end of 2020): 144.0 million followers
Neymar is undoubtedly one of the best players of this generation, which means he's also one of the most popular ones. Naturally, his number of Instagram followers reflect this.
The 28-year-old is one of the most marketable athletes in the world and frequently participates in other fields - such as music and media - when he's not making a killing on the football pitch. As a result, he is one of only three footballers to have more than 100 million followers on Instagram.
The Brazilian has won plenty of trophies at Barcelona and PSG - The two European clubs he has represented. He is also the fifth-most capped player for Brazil and has scored the second-most number of goals for the country - second only to Pele.
#2 Lionel Messi (Barcelona, Argentina)
Number of Instagram followers (end of 2020): 174.0 million followers
Widely believed to be one of the best players the sport and its history has seen, Lionel Messi was always going to be one of the biggest accounts on Instagram. The phenomenon that he is, Messi expectedly has fans from all across the globe and rightly so.
The 33-year-old made history when he became the first person to win a record sixth Ballon d'Or in 2019. Of course, he has been making history for a while now. He is the holder of a vast plethora of records in the sport, and has been at its apex for over a decade.
Messi is currently playing his 17th season for Barcelona, where he is now the captain, and has helped them win a staggering total of 33 major trophies since then - including 10 LaLiga titles and 4 UEFA Champions League titles.
For Argentina, he has scored the most goals in the country's history and is only 6 matches away from becoming their most-capped player of all time.
#1 Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus, Portugal)
Number of Instagram followers (end of 2020): 250.0 million followers
Of course it had to be Cristiano!
The sensational Portuguese forward has also been at the sport's apex for a while now and is widely regarded as one of the best players of all time. Also a holder of far too many records, Cristiano Ronaldo has tasted success at every club he has played for.
With fans located all around the world, he is the most followed personality on Instagram and is the only person in the world to have garnered 250 million followers. As mentioned in the introduction to this listicle, the 35-year-old has such a tremendous presence on social media that he earns more revenue from it than from football itself.
Apart from being one of the best ever and a five-time UEFA Champions League winner and five-time Ballon d'Or winner, the Juventus forward is also among the most marketable athletes in the world.
Even the sky is no limit for this superstar.
