Cristiano Ronaldo hits 1bn social media followers

Cristiano Ronaldo has hit 1bn total followers across his various social media accounts - making him the first person to reach that mind-boggling figure.

The number is calculated by combining his total number of followers across Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Chinese social media sites Weibo and Kuaishou.

It does not equate to one billion individual followers, as many people will follow him across multiple platforms, and some will be fake accounts, known as bots.

Nonetheless social media expert Paolo Pescatore, from PP Foresight, described it as a "staggering number" that media and brands would pay close attention to.

"What an achievement, and it further underlines the fundamental shift taking place in media."

It showed "the power to reach new, younger audiences thanks to technology", he told the BBC.

On the pitch, Ronaldo was famed for his rivalry with Argentinian star Lionel Messi.

But off it, there is no competition for who is winning the social media contest - Messi has a mere 623 million followers.

It's not just sport: Ronaldo is also ahead of some of the biggest names in entertainment, including singers Justin Bieber, Taylor Swift and Selena Gomez.

Even those known primarily for their work online cannot compete - MrBeast, the top YouTuber in the world, has 543m total followers.

Breaking 1bn

Part of the reason the footballer crossed the 1bn boundary first comes down to his decision to join YouTube last month, where his channel rocketed to 50 million subscribers within a single week.

Compare that to Messi, whose channel has just 3.5m subscribers, despite having uploaded videos since 2011.

The reason for the difference comes down to the rule that governs YouTube: content is king.

Messi's channel has only uploaded one video in the past three years, a flashy ad for a football experience based around him that lasts half a minute.

His other videos are similarly short - while the longer ones are usually montages or feature him speaking in his native Spanish.

So far, Ronaldo's channel consists mainly of conversations between him and his wife Georgina Rodríguez, as well as his former Manchester United colleague Rio Ferdinand.

But all this content has been tailored for an English-speaking audience - and even when Ronaldo is talking in Spanish or Portuguese, the videos are often dubbed into English.

That, coupled with near-daily uploads and bright and colourful YouTube thumbnails. show Ronaldo (or more likely his social media team) know exactly how to make a video popular on the platform.

He announced the news in a post shared across his various social media platforms.

Cristiano Ronaldo has made a career out of breaking records.

His successes include being top scorer in Uefa Champions League history, having the most goals in the European Championship, and making more international appearances than anyone else.

Last week he became the first footballer to score 900 top-level career goals.

As with his playing career, he still has scope to improve his numbers on social media too, as unlike some of his rivals, he is not on TikTok or Threads.

All of which is likely to add to another figure he dominates: earnings.

According to Forbes, his total earnings now stand at $260 million - the highest of any athlete.