Ahead of the 2026 World Cup, a new analysis has recorded the Instagram follower counts of all 1,244 players across all 48 World Cup squads, revealing which players and nations command the greatest social media — and what that reach is worth in estimated commercial earnings per sponsored post.
HIGHLIGHTS
- 1,244 players across all 48 World Cup squads were analysed
- The combined Instagram reach of all the players is 3.39 billion followers
- Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal) is the most followed player of the tournament with 665.6 million Instagram followers and estimated earnings of $6.66 million per sponsored post.
- Lionel Messi (Argentina, 506.5 million followers, est. $5.07 million per post), Neymar (Brazil, 234.3 million followers, est. $2.34 million per post), Kylian Mbappé (France, 130.5 million followers, est. $1.31 million per post) and Mohamed Salah (Egypt, 65.4 million followers, est. $653,748 per post) complete the top five most followed players at the tournament.
- Tim Payne (New Zealand) rose from around 5,000 followers to approximately 5.5 million after going viral before the tournament, placing him 77th among all 1,244 players. To mention other players with a low follower count, the five players currently with the lowest Instagram following are Scotland’s Grant Hanley (1,180 followers), Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Mladen Jurkas (1,341 followers), Curaçao’s Trevor Doornbusch (1,606 followers), Czechia’s Jaroslav Zeleny (1,701 followers) and Morocco’s Zakaria El Ouahdi (1,903 followers).
- The four most followed players — Ronaldo, Messi, Neymar and Mbappé — together hold 1.54 billion followers, representing 45.4% of all followers across the entire dataset.
- Portugal is the most followed nation with a combined squad total of 743.2 million followers, driven primarily by Ronaldo, followed by Argentina (647.5 million followers), Brazil (424.9 million followers) and France (229.1 million followers).
- Spain (133.4 million followers), England (129.0 million followers), Egypt (110.9 million followers), Colombia (90.3 million followers), Morocco (72.8 million followers) and Germany (72.3 million) complete the top five most followed nations outside the Big Four, with each squad’s total driven by a standout individual — Lamine Yamal, Jude Bellingham, Mohamed Salah, James Rodríguez and Achraf Hakimi respectively.
You can keep reading to see the top most followed players and nations, however, to see the followers for all 1,200+ players from all 48 nations in an interactive searchable graphic where you can also adjust the currency of the potential sponsored earnings, you can have a look here. Feel free to use our data and please credit MyBettingSites.co.uk if you decide to do so. Thank you!
TOP 20 MOST FOLLOWED PLAYERS
All estimated earnings are calculated at the industry-standard rate of earning $10 per 1,000 followers.
| Ranking | Player | Country | Instagram Followers | Est. Earnings Per Post |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cristiano Ronaldo | Portugal | 665.6 million | $6,656,469 |
| 2 | Lionel Messi | Argentina | 506.5 million | $5,065,391 |
| 3 | Neymar | Brazil | 234.3 million | $2,343,018 |
| 4 | Kylian Mbappé | France | 130.5 million | $1,305,056 |
| 5 | Mohamed Salah | Egypt | 65.4 million | $653,748 |
| 6 | Vinicius Junior | Brazil | 59.9 million | $599,096 |
| 7 | James Rodríguez | Colombia | 50.1 million | $501,089 |
| 8 | Lamine Yamal | Spain | 43.3 million | $432,751 |
| 9 | Jude Bellingham | England | 41.3 million | $412,629 |
| 10 | Erling Haaland | Norway | 40.6 million | $406,445 |
| 11 | Luka Modrić | Croatia | 38.6 million | $385,985 |
| 12 | Kevin De Bruyne | Belgium | 26.3 million | $262,618 |
| 13 | Achraf Hakimi | Morocco | 23.5 million | $234,748 |
| 14 | Pedri | Spain | 22.5 million | $225,466 |
| 15 | Marcus Rashford | England | 22.3 million | $222,922 |
| 16 | Casemiro | Brazil | 22.3 million | $222,850 |
| 17 | Federico Valverde | Uruguay | 21.6 million | $215,746 |
| 18 | Ousmane Dembélé | France | 21.2 million | $211,582 |
| 19 | Gavi | Spain | 19.5 million | $194,941 |
| 20 | Julián Álvarez | Argentina | 19.3 million | $193,126 |
TOP 10 LEAST FOLLOWED PLAYERS
The players currently with the lowest Instagram following at the 2026 World Cup.
| Ranking | Player | Country | Instagram Followers |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Grant Hanley | Scotland | 1,180 |
| 2 | Mladen Jurkas | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 1,341 |
| 3 | Trevor Doornbusch | Curaçao | 1,606 |
| 4 | Jaroslav Zeleny | Czechia | 1,701 |
| 5 | Zakaria El Ouahdi | Morocco | 1,903 |
| 6 | Ivan Sunjic | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 2,063 |
| 7 | Alexandr Sojka | Czechia | 2,208 |
| 8 | Ayoub Al Oui | Qatar | 2,374 |
| 9 | Tyrick Bodak | Curaçao | 3,007 |
| 10 | Mohamed Al Mannai | Qatar | 3,188 |
TOP 10 MOST FOLLOWED NATIONS
Total follower counts represent the combined Instagram followers of all squad members with active Instagram accounts.
| Ranking | Nation | Total Squad Followers | Most Followed Player |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Portugal | 743.2 million | Cristiano Ronaldo (665.6M) |
| 2 | Argentina | 647.5 million | Lionel Messi (506.5M) |
| 3 | Brazil | 424.9 million | Neymar (234.3M) |
| 4 | France | 229.1 million | Kylian Mbappé (130.5M) |
| 5 | Spain | 133.4 million | Lamine Yamal (43.3M) |
| 6 | England | 129.0 million | Jude Bellingham (41.3M) |
| 7 | Egypt | 110.9 million | Mohamed Salah (65.4M) |
| 8 | Colombia | 90.3 million | James Rodríguez (50.1M) |
| 9 | Morocco | 72.8 million | Achraf Hakimi (23.5M) |
| 10 | Germany | 72.3 million | Manuel Neuer (14.6M) |
THE BIG FOUR
Four players — Ronaldo, Messi, Neymar and Mbappé — together account for 45.4% of all Instagram followers across every player in the dataset. The remaining 1,240 players share the other 54.6%.
| Player | Country | Instagram Followers | % of Total (All Players) | Est. Earnings Per Post |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cristiano Ronaldo | Portugal | 665.6 million | 19.6% | $6,656,469 |
| Lionel Messi | Argentina | 506.5 million | 14.9% | $5,065,391 |
| Neymar | Brazil | 234.3 million | 6.9% | $2,343,018 |
| Kylian Mbappé | France | 130.5 million | 3.8% | $1,305,056 |
| Combined | — | 1.54 billion | — | — |
SPOKESPERSON COMMENT
A spokesperson for MyBettingSites.co.uk comments:
“An analysis of the Instagram accounts of 1,244 players across all 48 World Cup nations reveals the extraordinary commercial scale of football’s biggest names. The five most followed players — Ronaldo, Messi, Neymar, Mbappé and Salah — together hold over 1.6 billion followers, yet the gap between the elite and the rest is stark: Ronaldo’s estimated earnings of $6.66 million per a sponsored post is 34 times the $193,126 per post of Julián Álvarez — the 20th most followed player at the tournament — and nearly 14,700 times the estimated $453 per post of Portugal’s least followed squad member, Samu Costa.
Meanwhile, the most followed nations, Portugal, Argentina, Brazil and France account for over 2 billion of the 3.39 billion combined followers recorded across all player profiles.
Having said that, a breakthrough performance from one of the tournament’s lesser-known players could rapidly transform their social media presence and earning potential overnight.”
METHODOLOGY
- Instagram follower counts were recorded for all players named in the 48 World Cup squads, with data collected on 8 June 2026.
- Estimated earnings per sponsored post are calculated using the industry-standard benchmark of $10 per 1,000 followers.
- Figures are estimates only and do not account for engagement rates or exclusivity agreements.
- 32 players either have no Instagram account or have an account that is not publicly accessible; these players are excluded from all follower and earnings totals.
Tobias Fanta
Digital PR Manager
Better Collective
90 Bartholomew Close
London
EC1A 7BN
