Cristiano Ronaldo Breaks Instagram Record

Cristiano Ronaldo has smashed yet another record, but this time it's not on the football pitch.

While the Portuguese striker is used to banging in goals for club and country, he's also a global superstar, with fans all over the world.

And the 37-year-old's immense popularity has seen him break the Instagram record for followers, racking up an incredible 400 million on the social media site.

According to reports, Ronaldo had just the 237million followers as of September last year, meaning he's gained another 167 in just five months.

Which isn't too shabby, is it?

Congratulating the player on his milestone, Piers Morgan said: "Congrats to ⁦@Cristiano on becoming the first human being ever to reach 400 million followers on Instagram. The undisputed social media," along with a goat emoji and a series of clapping hands.

"Ps He only follows 500 people, including me… he knows a good grammer when he sees one."

And what's more, the incredible feat coincided with the Manchester United player's birthday last week.

Sharing a photograph of him and his partner Georgina Rodriguez, he wrote: "Life is a roller coaster. Hard work, high speed, urgent goals, demanding expectation.

"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."

And it's not been a bad couple of years for the superstar.

In 2020, he also became the first billionaire footballer.

Writing at the time, Forbes said: "Ronaldo, the first to reach the earnings milestone in a team sport, has made $650 million on the pitch during his 17 years as a pro and is expected to reach $765 million in career salary with his current contract, which ends in June 2022.

"Messi, who began playing at the senior level three years after Ronaldo, has earned a total of $605 million in salary since 2005."

Sporting Intelligence's Nick Harris, whose Global Sports Salaries Survey ranks teams worldwide based on total salary expense, told the publication: "Cristiano Ronaldo is one of the greatest players of all time, in the world's most popular sport, in an era when football has never been so rich.

"He's box office."

And his incredible wealth doesn't look like getting smaller any time soon.

According to reports, the player is currently earning a hefty £480,000-a-week ($649,570), taking his annual earnings to an eye-watering £25 million ($33.8m).