Cristiano Ronaldo 1st Person in World to Surpass 500M Social Media Followers

Juventus forward Cristiano Ronaldo has become the first person to surpass 500 million followers across the major social media platforms: Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Ronaldo, 36, is one of the most well-known athletes in the world, having played for three of the largest football clubs—Manchester United, Real Madrid and Juventus—while also starring for the Portugal national team during a career that's spanned two decades.

The five-time Ballon d'Or winner has utilized social media to help bolster his income streams.

Buzz Bingo reported Ronaldo earned $50.3 million from sponsored Instagram posts in 2020, the highest total in the world and well ahead of the next-highest earners, Barcelona forward Lionel Messi ($30.4 million) and reality television star Kendall Jenner ($25.6 million).

In September, Forbes reported the goal-scoring sensation became the first football player in history to surpass $1 billion in career earnings.

Here's his follower count by platform:

• Instagram: 261 million
• Facebook: 148 million
• Twitter: 91 million

Those numbers figure to continue rising as the rise toward 1 billion followers gets underway.