Top 5 most followed football players on Instagram

Football is widely regarded as one of the most popular sports in the world, which has allowed some of the biggest footballers to not only become household names, but also gather huge popularity across social media. One of the biggest metrics of success on the internet for a footballer is his popularity on the social media platform Instagram, which translates into immense wealth generation for them as well. In this article, SportsTiger looks at the top five most followed football players on Instagram as of May 21, 2025.

Most followed football players on Instagram

5. David Beckham (88 million)

David Beckham is a former England international, who retired from football nearly a decade ago after playing for some of the biggest clubs, including names like Manchester United, Real Madrid, LA Galaxy, Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), and more. After the conclusion of his football career, David Beckham has ventured into football punditry before owning stakes in clubs like Inter Miami and Salford City FC, ensuring that he is still one of the most famous personalities in the sport.

SPONSOR AD

4. Kylian Mbappe (124 million)

Kylian Mbappe has already won a FIFA World Cup for France in his young football career, and after a successful stint at PSG, he took a big step in his journey by joining Real Madrid last summer. In his first season for the Galacticos, the Frenchman has performed exceptionally well at an individual level, raising his profile among some of the most popular footballers in the world in just under one year.

3. Neymar Jr (229 million)

Neymar Jr’s football career has stalled in the last couple of years due to multiple injuries, but it hasn’t impacted the popularity in the world of social media, and especially on his official Instagram account. While it will be interesting to see if the Brazilian can reach his previous high on the pitch, he is expected to continue his surge among the most followed football players on Instagram.

2. Lionel Messi (505 million)

 Lionel Messi has won a lot of major trophies in the world of football in his illustrious career, for his country Argentina and some of the biggest football clubs namely Barcelona and PSG. In the twilight of his football career, the 37-year-old is currently playing for Inter Miami in the Major League Soccer (MLS), still showing glimpses of his best to the footballing world, and his social media presence is second to none regardless.

1. Cristiano Ronaldo (654 million)

Cristiano Ronaldo, the Portuguese international, is the most followed football player on the social media platform Instagram, which is built over the years with his incredible skill and ability to consistently deliver the goods on the football pitch for any team he played for, including names like Manchester United, Real Madrid, and Al-Nassr. The 40-year-old is still managing to keep up with his insane standards of yesteryear, mesmerising the football fans with his jaw-dropping goals time and again for club and country.