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Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher claimed that the likes of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are almost as big as clubs due to social media.
Ronaldo’s agent Jorge Mendes had recently claimed that the Portuguese was bigger than Manchester United and needed to play in the Champions League.
The agent had claimed that Ronaldo was intent on leaving the club the moment he realized that they would not be qualifying for the Champions League for this season.
Ronaldo has one of the highest social media followings in the world and has a total of 474 million followers on Instagram, which is the highest on the platform. Messi has the third most followed account on the platform with a total of 355 million followers.
The two have huge fanbases that are often found at crossroads with each other due to the debate surrounding the two players.
Carragher seems to agree, and claimed that the two players are equal in popularity to an entire football club:
"I think it is a 100 percent. Cristiano is so powerful because of his social media presence anyway. Him and Messi are almost as big as clubs, bigger in some ways because of their fanbase. Some of Ronaldo's fans aren't even Man United fans, that's how big these players are, because they've been such great players, two of the greatest in history.”
He added:
“That is one of the reasons you speculate, 'Does Ronaldo stay? Does Ten Hag want him? Ronaldo's put a transfer request in and wants to move on right now. Every time Man United play now, every time Ten Hag picks a team, it will all center around Cristiano Ronaldo and I don't think that's healthy for a club the size of Man United."
Are Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi bigger than most football clubs?
Modern social media has indeed allowed the two footballers to gain a huge following around the world. Cristiano Ronaldo in particular might be more popular than Manchester United, which is said to have one of the largest fanbases in the sport of football itself.
The club’s website claims that it has a community of around 1.1 billion fans around the world.
Top clubs associated with the two players such as Barcelona, Real Madrid, and United have rich histories with a plethora of great players having played for them previously.
While it may indeed be true that the players in some ways have become bigger or comparable to clubs, it might not be the best thing possible for football.
The team sport involves 11 players. Defenders, midfielders, and goalkeepers already get lesser credit and popularity than the goalscorers. On the other hand, both Lionel Messi and Ronaldo have consistently achieved things that no other player has been able to achieve in club football’s history.
While the trend might not be ideal in itself for overall football, most fans will be able to understand why Ronaldo and Messi might just deserve the kind of adoration they have managed to garner.
