Cristiano Ronaldo vs Lionel Messi vs Virat Kohli: A Comparison Of Instagram Earnings

The list of top-earning Instagram celebrities is out and it's not a surprise that Portuguese football superstar Cristiano Ronaldo leads the list. The former Real Madrid and Manchester United superstar took the numero uno spot, beating celebrities from every corner of the world, no matter which walks of life they came from. Behind Ronaldo was Lionel Messi, the Argentine superstar who recently made the switch to Major League Soccer in the United States of America. Ronaldo, on the other hand, brought his European adventure to an end last year when he agreed on a switch to the Saudi Pro League.

In the sporting spectrum, there's just one cricketer who managed to make the cut and that is Virat Kohli. The former India captain slots in at the No. 3 spot, ahead of Brazil footballer Neymar Jr. and NBA superstar LeBron James.

Here's a look at the gulf of difference between the earnings of the sporting stars who made it to the Hopper HQ list:

1. Cristiano Ronaldo: Per Post Cost of USD 3,234,000 2. Lionel Messi: Per Post Cost of USD 2,597,000 3. Virat Kohli: Per Post Cost of USD 1,384,000 4. Neymar Jr: Per Post Cost of USD 1,141,000 5. LeBron James: Per Post Cost Of USD 851,000

Not just sporting superstars, Ronaldo also left behind the likes of Selena Gomez, Kylie Jenner, Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson, Ariana Grande, Kim Kardashian, Justin Bieber, etc.

It is important to note that Ronaldo's sponsored posts on Instagram fetch, on an average an astounding $3.23 million (INR 26.75 crore), according to Hopper HQ. The greatest goalscorer in international football history has over 600 million followers.

Even the second-placed Messi's earnings are quite shy of the benchmark Ronaldo has been able to set. The Inter Miami forward mints USD 4.79