A study has named Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and Neymar in the top 10 most influential footballers on Instagram at the 2022 World Cup. The ranking is based on Nielsen’s influencer measurement tool, which evaluates total followers, follower growth, engagement rate and average brand value per post on Instagram to give a media value total.
To be considered, players have to be set to take part in the 2022 World Cup of Qatar. The results found that Ronaldo was the most influential figure thanks to receiving an enormous 48% growth in followers over in the past year.
The Portuguese has 480 million individual accounts following him on the social platform and consequently averages $3.6 million in media value per post.
Second in the top 10 was Messi. The Argentine has received a slightly less impressive 38% growth in his following across the past 12 months and averages around $2.7 million per post.