Cristiano Ronaldo Hits Half A Billion Followers On Instagram Despite Controversial Interview

Cristiano Ronaldo's record-breaking days are far from over!

The sensational footballer is widely recognized as one of the greatest players of all time, with numerous accolades to back the claim. However, his achievements are not restricted to the field. Outside his goal-scoring arena, the King of soccer made headlines for his impact as a media personality, even though being a public figure has come with a few cons for the star.

Ronaldo is no stranger to the heat, and no, this has nothing to do with his blazing-hot appearance. As a famous athlete, the Portuguese heartthrob has been a target of worldwide criticism, however, he never expected the shots to come from home.

Following his viral appearance on Piers Morgan Uncensored, where the Manchester United forward shared shocking truths about his team. The football sensation attracted media backlash for his actions; surprisingly, his followers were a different case.

Despite the attacks aimed at Ronaldo's career, the 37-year-old continues to steal hearts with his social media presence. Instead of losing fans over his explosive interview, the ESPY Award winner's devotees continue to grow.

Perhaps to show their support after his tell-all session with Morgan, millions of new followers flooded the athlete's Instagram account. This surge of fans skyrocketed the "Striker Force 7" co-author into increasing the gap as the platform's most followed person.

That's right! Congratulations are in order for the Portuguese heartthrob, as he officially has 500 million followers on Instagram. Excluding the official Instagram account, which boasts 569 million followers, Ronaldo is the first person ever to achieve this feat.

With his current IG status, the father-of-five has left his longtime rival Lionel Messi in the dust as the second-most followed person in the world with 376 million fans. The two G.O.A.T are the only athletes to earn the top spots on the world's ten most followed celebrities on Instagram.

In third place is the beauty mogul Kylie Jenner with 372 million, followed by the songstress Selena Gomez with 357 million followers. In sixth place is Hollywood's sweetheart Dwayne Johnson with 348 million admirers beating Ariana Grande by 8 million followers.

At number 8 is Kylie's half-sister Kim Kardashian with 334 million, while Beyoncé and Khloe Kardashian hold number 9 and ten spots. Queen Bey and the reality TV star have 283 million and 280 million followers, respectively.

Given the impressive names on the star-studded list, the former Real Madrid star's massive fanbase shows how much the athlete is loved. Despite the ongoing drama between him and his team, his support system did not disappoint, just as the 37-year-old predicted.

As shared by BBC, during the five-time Ballon d'Or winner's interview, the record breaker did not hold back his discontentment with Manchester United. Ronaldo noted that he had zero respect for current manager Erik Ten Hag and slammed icons, Wayne Rooney and Gary Neville.

Although several Manchester United fans were displeased by his behavior, with some going as far as claiming he had ruined his legacy with the interview. The footballer and Morgan believed genuine devotees would continue to support him.

According to the British broadcaster, who has allegedly developed a close relationship with the European Golden Shoe winner, this has been the worst year of Ronaldo's life. From losing his baby boy earlier this year to facing unfair criticisms, Morgan felt the Portuguese native has been "increasingly frustrated."

"He wanted to set the record straight," the journalist said, "because, for most of this year, he's been on the receiving end of really, I think, a ridiculously overblown amount of criticism."

When it comes to being the best, Ronaldo continues to challenge some of the world's most incredible acts for their thrones. Per The Blast, the 37-year-old sensational athlete dethroned the "Jumanji" star for an Instagram title.

Johnson previously held the top spot as the platform's highest-paid celebrity earning $1,015,000 per post before increasing his profits to $1,523,000. However, the actor could not beat the Portuguese native's massive earnings of $1,604,000 per post.

Now, the father-of-five holds the number one spot on Instagram's Richlist, with The Rock at number two and the Kylie Cosmetics founder at number three with $986,000 earnings per post.