Cristiano Ronaldo continues to edge out World Cup hero Lionel Messi in Instagram Rich List

Cristiano Ronaldo’s hold on top spot of football’s Instagram rich list has continued as he continues to hold off long-time rival Lionel Messi. 

Ronaldo, who boasts 528 million followers on the photo and video sharing app, earns around $2.4m (£2m) per branded post, according to Hopper’s 2022 rich list. That had soared from around £1.16m per post in the 2021 ranking.

The Portugal forward, who has just signed a £175m-per-year contract at Saudi Arabian club Al Nassr after leaving Manchester United, promotes brands including Nike, Clear shampoo, Louis Vuitton, Bitcoin exchange Binance and app Livescore. 

Cristiano Ronaldo (left) is top of football’s Instagram rich list for money earned from branded posts, with his long-time rival Lionel Messi (right) ranking in at second, ahead of Neymar

The Brazilian ranks third, with Blaze Casino (pictured) one of the many brands on his Instagram

Ronaldo has not published a paid partnership post since November 22 when he was showing off a watch by Jacob & Co, an American jewelry and wristwatch retailer. 

Ronaldo’s status as arguably the most marketable athlete on the planet is, however, seen as under threat from Messi following Argentina’s World Cup win last month. 

Messi is one of the most in-demand footballers anywhere in the world currently following his World Cup win in Qatar and brands are desperate to get access to him.

The PSG star has 414 million Instagram followers and already counts brands such as Budweiser beer, the Call of Duty and eFootball video games, energy drink Gatorade, crypto exchange Bitget and artificial eyewear firm Orcam as companies he has promoted. 

Behind Ronaldo and Messi is the Argentine’s PSG team-mate Neymar, who earns close to £784,000 per branded post. 

Neymar’s last branded post saw him promote Blaze casino and his collaboration with them on Boxing Day. The post earned more than 3.8m likes. 

Ronaldo, Messi and Neymar are three of the most famous stars among active players, but it is two retired icons that round out the top five in the rich list. 

Former Manchester United and Real Madrid winger David Beckham pulls in fourth, earning £330,000 per branded post while Brazilian Ronaldinho rounds out the top five, earning just under £300,000 a post. 

Beckham is a frequent poster and his latest promotion has seen him promote Tudor Watch company. 

Haig Club, EA Sports and adidas are among the other brands that frequently appear on Beckham’s account, which boasts 76.8m followers.

The other five players in the top 10 are all still playing and outspoken striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic narrowly edges out Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah, as they rank sixth and seventh respectively. 

Gareth Bale, Luis Suarez and Toni Kroos complete the top 10. 

Brands are scrambling to capitalise on Lionel Messi’s World Cup success with Argentina with the star poised to earn millions in endorsements on social media

Ronaldo may be on top but Messi is the man of the moment when it comes to Instagram now. 

The 35-year-old made social media history when an Instagram picture of him lifting the World Cup trophy became the most liked post ever.

It has amassed more than 75 million likes since it was posted on December 18, surpassing a picture of an egg posted by British advertising executive Chris Godfrey in 2019.

A later post of Messi in bed with the World Cup trophy after the team returned to Argentina gained over 50m likes. 

Messi promotes artificial eyewear company OrCam in a sponsored post on his Instagram account, which has 414 million followers around the world

Another branded post saw Messi plug the popular video game series Call of Duty