Ronaldo vs. Messi: The battle for millions has moved to Instagram
New data reveals the astronomical sums that the world's leading celebrities pocket for a single sponsored post, with Cristiano Ronaldo leading the list, followed immediately by his long-time rival on the pitch.
The Instagram accounts of the world's biggest celebrities have long since turned from a platform for sharing photos into well-oiled money machines. New data reveals the astronomical sums that leading stars charge for just one sponsored post, illustrating how much advertising on social networks has become a major economic asset.
At the top of the earners list stands football superstar Cristiano Ronaldo, who leads the table by a significant margin. With a record audience of 678 million followers, Ronaldo pockets about 3.75 million dollars for every sponsored post. Immediately after him in the ranking is his long-time rival on the pitch, Lionel Messi, who earns about 2.85 million dollars per post. As a reminder, Messi currently holds the title for the post with the most likes, a post in which he shows his victory celebrations with the Argentina national team at the 2022 World Cup.
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Shared post by Leo Messi (@leomessi)
The top three is closed by singer and actress Selena Gomez with about 2.57 million dollars. The top of the list continues to show staggering figures: Kylie Jenner and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson share a respectable place with an income of about 2.4 million dollars per publication, followed by Ariana Grande with 2.30 million dollars and Kim Kardashian who earns 2.18 million dollars. The list is rounded out by music and sports giants: Beyonce (1.90 million dollars), Justin Bieber (1.81 million dollars), Taylor Swift (1.70 million dollars), and Neymar Jr. (about 1.21 million dollars for a single post).
These data prove that in the current era, direct access to an audience of hundreds of millions of fans is worth much more to international brands than any traditional television advertisement.
