Reason Behind Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi’s Huge Instagram Follower Drop Emerges
- Football stars Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi reportedly lost millions of followers after Instagram carried out a major bot purge
- Ronaldo reportedly lost around 18 million followers, while Messi and Dwayne Johnson were each said to have lost about five million
- Instagram has not officially commented on the purge, which also reportedly affected figures including Donald Trump and Neymar
Don't miss out! Get your daily dose of sports news straight to your phone. Join YEN's Sports News channel on WhatsApp now!
Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi were among several global celebrities who reportedly lost millions of followers after Instagram carried out a major bot purge on the platform.
Many users took to social media to highlight huge drops in their follower counts after millions of fake and inactive accounts were reportedly removed within a six-hour period.
Source: Getty Images
Instagram regularly carries out clean-up operations aimed at removing bots and cracking down on spam accounts, but the latest purge appeared far more aggressive than usual and reportedly affected some of the world’s biggest stars.
Logan Paul and KSI reportedly lost hundreds of thousands of followers, while Ryan Reynolds, co-owner of Wrexham AFC, also saw a significant decline.
Why Ronaldo, Messi lost Instagram followers
Dwayne Johnson, also known as The Rock, is believed to have lost around five million followers, the same reported figure as eight-time Ballon d’Or winner Messi.
Meanwhile, Brazilian superstar Neymar reportedly saw his follower count fall by four million.
However, it was Ronaldo who appeared to suffer the biggest drop, with reports claiming that the Portuguese icon lost around 18 million followers despite remaining the most-followed person on Instagram.
The Al Nassr superstar currently has around 666 million followers on the platform, where he regularly shares content about his lifestyle, football career, sponsorships and commercial partnerships.
Instagram has not officially commented on the reported purge, which also appeared to affect public figures including Donald Trump, Pope Francis, Justin Bieber and Kylie Jenner.
Source: Getty Images
How much Ronaldo makes from Instagram posts
According to previous reports from CNN, Ronaldo earns an estimated £2.57 million per Instagram post, more than any other celebrity.
That value has reportedly risen dramatically over the years.
CR7 and his team previously charged around £250,000 for a third of his social media output during a digital-only partnership with Sport Lobster, an app that former Liverpool star Michael Owen invested in.
Harry Hugo, the company’s former head of social, told Rising Ballers:
“We were the first guys to be a digital-only deal with Cristiano Ronaldo for a quarter of a million pounds.
“That was for the year, for a third of his social media output. So we're talking like nearly 30-40 posts that are dedicated to Sport Lobster, dedicated with a link to download and that cost a quarter of a million quid.
“It costs a million quid for him to turn up to a TV photoshoot and now it costs a million quid for him to post on anything. So it was an unbelievable deal.
“It got to a point where every time he posted it would generate us like two thousand downloads. He had a hundred million followers.”
Ronaldo closes in on 1000 career goals
Meanwhile, Ronaldo moved one step closer to another major milestone after scoring in Al Nassr’s crucial 4-2 victory over Al Shabab on Thursday, May 7, 2026.
The goal took the 41-year-old to a reported 971 career goals, leaving him just 29 shy of the remarkable 1000-goal mark.
It was also his 100th goal for Al Nassr since joining the Saudi club.
Ronaldo drops hint about retirement
Earlier, YEN.com.gh reported that Cristiano Ronaldo dropped another hint about his retirement after scoring in Al Nassr’s 2-0 win over Al Ahli Saudi.
Despite nearing the end of his illustrious career, the veteran forward insisted he is still enjoying every moment on the pitch while still defying his age.
Proofreading by Bruce Douglas, copy editor at YEN.com.gh.
Source: YEN.com.gh
