Lionel Messi is the star of Argentina.
He has long been the successful footballer the world has looked up upon. He's the star of the field, and is considered amongst the most successful sportsperson in the world. But when it comes to the world of social media, Messi has long been living under the shadows of his rival, Cristiano Ronaldo.
But not anymore, because following the 2022 FIFA World Cup, the first World Cup held in the Arab world and Muslim world, where Argentina were crowned the champions after winning the final against the title holder France 4–2 on penalties, Messi's name skyrocketed, more than ever before.
the Argentine captain was voted the tournament's best player, winning the Golden Ball.
With the instant boost in fame, adding to this existing fame, Messi is able to rake in millions of dollars from the internet, almost instantly.
For starters, he has at least six different Instagram sponsored posts in quick succession, including from American-style pale lager Budweiser, cryptocurrency exchange Bitget, the Call of Duty and eFootball video games, eye wear OrCam, and sports energy drink Gatorade.
This earned him a net £9 million.
What this means, the star can command around £1.5 million, per sponsored Instagram post.
Brands are scrambling to capitalize on Lionel Messi's World Cup success, since they know that all eyes are on him.
Messi even made Instagram history, when his photo lifting the World Cup trophy became the most-Liked post ever, surpassing the egg photo by British advertising executive Chris Godfrey in 2019.
A later Instagram post of Messi curling in bed with the World Cup trophy after the team returned to Argentina has also gained huge attention by fans and beyond.
Lionel Messi's football rival, Cristiano Ronaldo, is one of the highest paid footballer.
But put that aside, another of the Portugal star's huge source of income has been from Instagram.
According to the Hopper's list, Cristiano Ronaldo sits comfortably at the number one spot, with $2 million per sponsored post.
Messi is third, with around $1.77 million per Instagram post price tag.
The two footballers are split by American media personality, socialite, and businesswoman Kylie Jenner, who rakes in around $1.8 million per sponsored post.
The next highest-ranked sportsperson, is Virat Kohli, a Indian cricketer, whose price for a sponsored post comes at $1.08 million.
The next highest-paid footballer on the list, is Neymar da Silva Santos Júnior, who commands $945,000 per sponsored Instagram post.
Footballers following him, include David Beckham ($390,000), Ronaldinho ($360,000), Zlatan Ibrahimović ($290,000), Mohamed Salah ($275,000), Gareth Bale ($255,000), Luis Suárez ($236,000), Toni Kroos ($183,000), Eden Hazard ($146,000), Sergio Aguero ($126,000), and Kevin De Bruyne ($97,000).
Speaking of Cristiano Ronaldo, his defeat in World Cup isn't marking the end of his career.
In fact, going forward, Ronaldo just signed a £175 million-per-year contract at Saudi Arabian club Al-Nassr after leaving Manchester United. This makes his salary far above Messi's and even above basketball star LeBron James.
Ronaldo's off-field sponsorship is also nothing to trifle with, because he promotes brands that include Nike, Clear shampoo, Louis Vuitton, Bitcoin exchange Binance and app Livescore.
But with Ronaldo's dismal from the World Cup, following Portugal's defeat against Morocco, his star power on Instagram fades rather quickly.
What this means, the gap between him and Messi is narrowing.
Since Messi lifted the World Cup cup trophy on December 18, Messi's official Instagram account has gained the momentum needed to be an par with Ronaldo.
And since Argentina won, Ronaldo hasn't post a single paid partnership to his hundreds of millions of followers on Instagram.
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