'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
#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.
