Top five most liked footballers’ posts on Instagram

Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo dominate this list

Not only do Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo rule sports, but they also dominate social media, with the most likes on their photos. Messi and Ronaldo are the two greatest football players of all time, having won an unparalleled number of trophies, but on December 18th, Messi may have put a stop to the GOAT (greatest of all time) discussion after his side was crowned World Champions after defeating France 4-2 on penalties.

Here we take a look at the most liked posts on Instagram of football players.

5. Lionel Messi's first photo after signing for PSG – 22.1 million likes

Lionel Messi's most loved shot in a PSG jersey following his abrupt move from his childhood club Barcelona. Due to a lack of financial aid and mounting debt at the club, many of their highest-earning players were forced to depart in order to cut the team's salary limit and fulfill the La Liga salary cap.

Many clubs expressed interest in signing Messi after his Copa America victory in 2021, but PSG were fast to sign the Argentine for free. He was then greeted warmly, and his Instagram picture of him clutching a PSG jersey garnered one of the highest likes.

4. Lionel Messi: Ronaldo vs Messi Chess game – 32.2 million

The football world was in a flurry when Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo posted a photo together on their separate Instagram accounts, shocking fans worldwide. The two greatest players in football had finally posted a photo together. Despite this, Messi's Instagram post with Ronaldo received the most likes, breaking his own previous record of 32.2 million likes with a PSG jersey.

3. Cristiano Ronaldo & Georgina Rodríguez: Twins pregnancy announcement – 32.6 million

Ronaldo nearly broke the most-liked photo on Instagram when he posted photos with his twin sons. As fans and players from all over the world congratulated the five-time Ballon d'Or winner on the post, the 37-year-old remained the only player to have the most liked photo on Instagram as a player until he uploaded a picture of him and Lionel Messi playing chess before the World Cup, that overtook his own record.

2. Cristiano Ronaldo: Ronaldo vs Messi Chess game – 42 million

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A post shared by Cristiano Ronaldo (@cristiano)

Cristiano Ronaldo is the most followed person and footballer on Instagram, with over 500 million followers, and anytime he posts a photo of himself, he generally receives millions of likes.

As the entire football world was preparing for the World Cup 2022, Ronaldo posted a photo of him and Lionel Messi playing chess before the World Cup game, which quickly became the most popular photo of an athlete and may have broken the egg record. This astounded people when they shared the photographs, but it was then found that the photo had been edited as it was sponsored by Louis Vuitton.

1. Lionel Messi: FIFA World Cup win – 56 million

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A post shared by Leo Messi (@leomessi)

Lionel Messi made history when he led Argentina to their third World Cup title and the first of his career, defeating France 4-2 in penalties. Messi set records both on and off the field, as the former Barcelona player's photo with the World Cup trophy shattered the egg's record for the most-liked Instagram post in ever, with 56 million people liking it.

Lionel Messi's photos with the World Cup trophy have already surpassed the previous record of the most liked Instagram photo of an egg, published by Chris Godfrey, which has 56 million likes. With Messi's World Cup trophy now being the most liked post on Instagram.