Cristiano Ronaldo: 400 Million Followers and Counting on Instagram, First Person on Planet to Achieve It With Lionel Messi — A Distant Third

Lionel Messi finds himself occupying third place, well behind Cristiano Ronaldo who became the first person ever to have crossed 400 million followers on Instagram.

Cristiano Ronaldo became the first person ever to have crossed 400 million followers on Instagram, with Kylie Jenner of the United States occupying a distant second spot, followed by Lionel Messi with 306 million followers. The Portuguese captain turned 37, a couple of days back and took to social media to thank his fans and followers.

“Life is a roller coaster. Hard work, high speed, urgent goals, demanding expectations… But in the end, it all comes down to family, love, honesty, friendship, values that make it all worth it. Thanks for all the messages! 37 and counting! (sic)”, he wrote on social media.

Talking about his future plans, the 37-year-old said that he is looking forward to playing till the forties and right now focussing on short-term goals.

“Genetically I feel like I’m 30 years old. I take great care of my body and my mind. Something I’ve learned recently is that after 33, I believe the body can deliver if you need it, but the real battle is mental. I want to find out if I’m going to play until I’m 40, 41, or 42 but the most important thing is that my daily goal is to enjoy the moment,” said Ronaldo in a recent interview with ESPN.

Comparing football with other sports, most notably NBA, Ronaldo said that there have been instances where some great athletes have gone on to play beyond their forties but it isn’t such an easy thing to do in football where the workload is more than any other sport.

“I think a very important point is the difference between sports. You mentioned some excellent athletes who have already been active for many years. In my opinion, there is no other sport that has as much workload as football. The NBA, for example, has long rest periods, but I don’t want to expand on that,” he added.