Top 5 Most Followed Footballers on Instagram After Lionel Messi Reaches 500 Million

• Lionel Messi has crossed the half-billion mark of followers on Instagram
• He is the second personality on the platform to reach the milestone
• The top two most famous personalities are football superstars

Lionel Messi reached 500 million Instagram followers over the weekend, becoming the second personality and footballer to amass half a billion fans on the picture-sharing platform.

The top two most followed individuals on the Facebook-owned company are footballers, with Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo the other with over 600 million fans.

Sports Brief looks at the top five most famous football stars on Instagram.

Most followed players on Instagram

1. Cristiano Ronaldo

Ronaldo is the most followed personality on Instagram, with 623 million followers and counting. The only account with more followers is the platform’s official account, which has 669 million. The Portuguese international’s most-liked post is a photo of him and Messi for a Louis Vuitton campaign.

Revealed! The top 10 most skilled footballers in the world right now

Football

2. Lionel Messi

The Argentina captain is the latest star, with over half a billion followers after reaching the milestone over the weekend. Per Brandwatch, he has the most liked post on the platform, with his World Cup picture amassing over 75 million likes.

3. Neymar

The Brazilian attacker has been the closest player to Messi and Ronaldo on the field, and it is no surprise he is also within reach behind them on social media. He has 220 million fans, and his most liked picture was after Brazil were eliminated from the World Cup by Croatia; it has over 23 million likes.

4. Kylian Mbappe

Mbappe has rubbed shoulders with legends and is widely known as the next biggest superstar in football. The French star is already proving that on the pitch and social media. He is the fourth most-followed star, with 112 million fans.

5. Karim Benzema

The top 10 most handsome Manchester United players in 2024

Football

Benzema is the fifth most famous footballer on Instagram, with over 75 million followers. Per Goal, he deactivated his account after Ronaldo's Al-Nassr beat Al-Ittihad 5-2 in December. By the time he resurfaced, he had just ten posts left.

Inter Miami co-owner David Beckham has 87 million followers, but this list only considers active professional football stars.

Benzema deleted Al-Ittihad pictures

Sports Brief reported on Benzema deleting Al-Ittihad pictures after reinstating his Instagram page. He cleared all football-related images, including those from his glamorous Real Madrid years.

This comes after criticism from the media over his antics in Saudi Arabia, where he reportedly wants to force his way out less than a year after joining.