Ronaldo kept getting better and better with each season that passed. Ronaldo is the biggest star on social media with 277 million followers across Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, up 62 million from a year ago. His 1,516 posts generated 1.7 billion interactions (likes, comments, shares), plus video views of 652 million, according to Hookit, which tracks the social engagement of athletes. Neymar and Lionel Messi have the next largest followings with 165 million and 164 million, respectively. LeBron with 90 million followers is the only American athlete among the 10 sports stars with the largest followings. Eight athletes are not on social media at all.
Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro (Portuguese pronunciation: [kɾiʃ'tjɐnu ʁuˈnaɫdu], born 5 February 1985) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a forward for Spanish club Real Madrid and the Portugal national team. Often considered the best player in the world and regarded by many as the greatest of all time, Ronaldo has four FIFA Ballon d'Or awards, the most for a European player, and is the first player in history to win four European Golden Shoes. He has won 22 trophies in his career, including five league titles, four UEFA Champions League titles and one UEFA European Championship.
This past year Ronaldo was named FIFA's best player in the world for the fourth time, secured a contract extension with Real Madrid that will pay him more than $50 million for each of the next four years through his 36th birthday and inked a lifetime deal with Nike worth upward of $1 billion. His native Portugal honored him by renaming an international airport after he led that country to a UEFA Euro title last summer. This season he led Real Madrid to La Liga title and back-to-back Champions League crowns. His growing line of CR7 branded products now include shoes, underwear, fragrance, jeans and a line of hotels. Ronaldo remains the most popular athlete in the world with 275 million social media followers.
