Top 10 Football Players with biggest growth of followers on Instagram

Jude Bellingham surpasses Mbappé, but Cristiano Ronaldo is still the player with the most new followers in 2023

Sold to Real Madrid, Endrick is also a highlight, ranking 24th on the list of players with the most new followers on Instagram

With 13 goals in 16 La Liga games and 4 goals in 5 Champions League games, English midfielder Jude Bellingham, from Real Madrid, is the newest star in international football. His 18.8 million new followers on Instagram are proof of this, making Bellingham the 3rd player with the most new followers on the platform – ahead of Kylian Mbappé, Neymar and even Manchester City star Erling Haaland.

Despite Bellingham’s prominence in the world of football, these 18.8 million new followers represent only 1/5 of what Cristiano Ronaldo garnered on his official account. The Portuguese star, despite playing in Saudi Arabia – theoretically, a less relevant market in the sports industry -, gained 88.8 million new followers on Instagram.

In second place in the ranking is another ET from the world of football: Lionel Messi. The Argentine, who also moved to a peripheral center – in this case the United States, to play for Inter Miami CF -, accumulated 83 million new followers on his official profile, with a wide advantage over the new generation.

New Generation gains ground

If we have already highlighted Jude Bellingham and his performance, we can also notice the new stars gaining ground on social media.

Vinicius Junior, one of Real Madrid’s biggest stars and main activist against racism in football, gained 15.4 million new followers, ranking 6th. Haaland is 7th; Julian Alvarez, world champion for Argentina and Manchester City, is 13th; Rodrygo (Real Madrid), 15th; João Felix (Barcelona), 17th; and Camavinga (Real Madrid), 18th.

Outside the Top20 – but already attracting attention due to his performance – is Palmeiras’ Endrick, already sold to Real Madrid. The 17-year-old – who helped Palmeiras win the Brazilian championship this season, scoring 11 goals – accumulated 3.77 million new followers, ranking 24th at the end of 2023. A performance similar to that of Phil Foden, of Manchester City and the England National Team, which had 3.69 million new followers.

Veterans are also attractive

Sergio Ramos, who returned to Sevilla after a season at PSG, is in 10th position, with 7.68 million new followers. Marcelo, who returned to Fluminense to win the Copa Libertadores for the first time, ends 2023 in 14th, with 5.87 million. Isco, from Betis-SPA, in turn, gained 4.46 million new users, and ranks in 20th position.