Cristiano Ronaldo himself confirmed this milestone on his social media account X. He expressed: “We have made history with 1 billion followers! This isn’t merely a number but a reflection of our shared passion and love for football.

From the streets of Madeira to the grandest stages, I have always played for my family and for you. Thank you for your support and belief in me. This journey belongs to all of us, and together we will surpass every limit. The best is yet to come, and we will keep making history!”

Ronaldo recently launched his YouTube channel, which garnered 15 million subscribers on its first day. Within just a week, this number surged to 50 million, and his channel now boasts over 60 million subscribers.

On other social media platforms, Ronaldo has 170.5 million followers on Facebook, 113 million on X (formerly Twitter), and around 10 million each on China’s Weibo and Kuaishou.

However, Instagram is his biggest “playground”, with 639 million followers, accounting for around 8% of the global population.

Lionel Messi is the player with the closest number of followers to the Portuguese star, with only around 500 million followers.

Cristiano Ronaldo’s fortune is close to the $2 billion mark

The Al Nassr striker is currently playing his third season in the Saudi Pro League, where he has received around $215 million in salary in 2023. In addition, he earns an additional $60 million from advertising contracts. Ronaldo’s total earnings in 2023 will reach $275 million, more than double that of any other athlete except golfer Jon Rahm ($203 million).