Cristiano Ronaldo vs Lionel Messi vs Virat Kohli - Who earns more on Instagram?

All three stars are world beaters in their respective fields which also makes them immensely marketable across different platforms.

As far as sportspersons are concerned, Juventus and Portugal football star Cristiano Ronaldo is the absolute marketing king. If we take a look at his followers on social media, we realise that this is what translates into him bagging more endorsements and churning out money for himself. As per a recent study conducted by Buzz Bingo, it has been found out that Ronaldo sits ahead of not just his arch-rival Lionel Messi but also Instagram celebrity Kendall Jenner.

Now, if we take a look at Indian sportspersons, Indian cricket captain Virat Kohli is the leader, but then, when his earnings are pitted against Cristiano Ronaldo, it pales in comparison. At the time of filing this article, Ronaldo has an Instagram following of over 186 million which is 20 million more than pop star Ariana Grande. Kohli, on the other hand, has around 42 million followers on the social media platform.

Virat Kohli on the move

Over the past one year, the soccer star has made a total of 34 sponsored posts on social media and earned a sum of USD 975k per post. If we compare it to Barcelona star Lionel Messi, he has made 36 sponsored posts and earned a revenue of USD 648k per post. The Argentine sits in the second spot in the list.

It has to be mentioned here that six of the top 10 earners on the platform are sportspersons, with the likes of David Beckham, Neymar, Zlatan Ibrahimovic making it to the elite list. And then there are Kendall Jenner, Kylie Jenner, Chloe Kardashian and Selena Gomez who are the non-sporting celebs in the top 10.

As far as Virat Kohli is concerned, he has earned a total of USD 1.18 million from Instagram in the past 12 months. If we take a look at the overall list, the star cricketer sits pretty on the 11th spot. Kohli has made a total of 6 sponsored posts in the last one year, earning USD 196k per post.

Messi Ronaldo — Messi (R) and Ronaldo (L) greet each other at the FIFA Best award ceremony in October, 2017BEN STANSALL/AFP/Getty Images

What is remarkable here is that Ronaldo earns more through Instagram than what he does at his football club, Juventus. The 34-year-old forward is believed to be earning a fee in the region of USD 34 million per year with the Italian champions.

Led by Virat Kohli, India have become a dominant force in Test cricket and the skipper is perhaps the most marketable face in the sport owing to his remarkable consistency and being, arguably, the best batsman across all formats.