Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo? The GOAT Debate’s New Performance Metric

One question has dominated the football world in the last decade: Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo? Fans, players and coaches alike have weighed in on the Greatest of All Time (‘GOAT’) debate by comparing the players’ stats: which is the more decorated player, and who has scored the most goals? For what it’s worth, my take is that we’re extremely fortunate to have watched two generational talents compete against each other for so many years — both have reached levels that won’t be surpassed any time soon.

However, Messi and Ronaldo’s recent transfers to Paris Saint-Germain FC and Manchester United FC respectively have uncovered a new performance metric in the GOAT debate: likes and followers. 

Having crunched the numbers, it’s fair to say that both footballers have a monumental following on social media. Paris Saint-Germain’s Instagram account has blown up since Messi’s move to Paris, gaining approximately 10 million followers — at the time of writing, the account has around 49.5 million followers. Ronaldo’s stunning return to Manchester has also seen the club gain a boost on its social media, albeit not as sharp as Paris Saint-Germain’s: the English club’s Instagram account has gained nearly three million followers since announcing that Ronaldo will have a second debut in Manchester. Manchester United’s Instagram post announcing Ronaldo’s return has also garnered more than 12 million likes, becoming the most liked post by a sports team on the platform. Ronaldo’s move has also had an impact on the market, with Bloomberg reporting that Manchester United Plc’s stock price jumped 5.8% in New York trading to close at USD $18.29 the first Friday after the announcement.

Messi does, however, edge out his Portuguese rival to the most popular sports photo on Instagram. Overtaking the previous record held by Ronaldo — a photo with Argentine legend Diego Maradona following his passing — Messi’s post of him cuddling the 2021 Copa America trophy takes out the top spot. At the time of writing, the photo has nearly 22 million likes. 1–0 Messi.

In terms of Instagram followers, not only does Ronaldo have more than Messi, but his account is also the most followed worldwide, with an eye-watering 335 million followers. According to ESPN, this is more than every English Premier League club combined. It has been reported by Forbes that Ronaldo makes nearly USD $1 million per paid post on the platform, and has the second highest income from Instagram-related revenue at USD $23.3 million. Cristiano equalises to make it 1–1.

As the GOAT debate is unlikely to ever be truly settled, it’s fitting to hit pause with scores level.

If you are interested in learning more about the numbers of Lionel Messi’s move to Paris Saint-Germain FC, please see: https://theathletic.com/.

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