The 2026 World Cup promises to be the most technological in history, whether due to what happens on the pitch or off it, starting with social media. Of the 1248 players called up for the 48 participating teams, some of them stand out when it comes to Instagram.
As has been the case since the 2018 World Cup, , and remain unbeatable at the top of the rankings. Currently, the Portuguese has 665.4 million followers. It has 496 million in 2021 and 320 in 2018.
The Argentine midfielder has 506.4 million. He had 373 miles in the last World Cup, and 181 in 2018, when he was still behind Neymar. The Brazilian striker currently has 234 million. It had 181 million four years ago, and was second in 2018, with 192.
In fourth place, , from France, has also maintained its regularity. Currently with 130 million, he had 73 million at the last World Cup. In 2018, it didn’t even appear in the Top-10.
“Neymar has been a topic for almost two decades and will be for the next few decades. He represents the materialization of the desire for a more joyful, creative and skillful football, as well as his ability to attract interest, attention, audience and sponsorship”, analyzes Reginaldo Diniz, CEO and founding partner of Agência End to End.
“The Neymar brand remains on the rise. This ability to remain relevant, regardless of the context, is what positions him as one of the greatest assets in sports marketing in the world. He continues to be a reference, not only for his sporting achievements, but for the impact he has on culture and the industry. Where there is Neymar, there is attention and new stories”, points out Ivan Martinho, professor of sports marketing at ESPM.
In the Top-30 players with the most followers on the platform, five are Brazilians. After Neymar, they appear in Vini Jr., with 59.8 million, Casemiro, with 22.2 million, Raphinha, with 19.6 million, and Endrick, the youngest of them and already with 17.9 million.
“Social networks have consolidated the role of athletes as platforms for global influence, expanding their relevance beyond sporting performance. Digital growth today is directly linked to the ability to generate authentic connections, dialogue with different audiences and remain relevant in an increasingly dynamic and competitive environment. In this scenario, consistency, authenticity and timing become determining factors in sustaining and expanding this presence over time”, says Wagner Leitzke, Head of Business at End to End Agency.
In the last 30 days, among the athletes mentioned above, Endrick gained the most followers on Instagram, with 979 thousand. He is followed by Neymar (935 thousand), Cristiano Ronaldo (789 thousand), Raphinha (506 thousand), Casemiro (239 thousand), Messi (224 thousand), Mbappé (59 thousand) and Vini Jr. (22 thousand).
“These numbers show the strength of a “meeting of two generations”. One that saw Neymar emerging and his peak, with an idolatry comparable to that of Cristiano Ronaldo and Messi around the world, and another, which sees in Endrick, a reference for the youngest of the next cycle, like Rayan and Estêvão. They represent different feelings, but very positive. Devotion and hope”, analyzes Thiago Freitas, COO of Roc Nation Sports in Brazil.
It is worth remembering that, during the month of May, some personalities – including athletes, lost thousands of followers because Meta carried out a kind of “cleaning” on Instagram, removing inactive accounts, fake profiles and bots to increase the authenticity of the platform. The measure impacted public figures and content creators globally.
Furthermore, data from “Flashscore”, the main live scores platform in the world, highlights that Endrick’s profile is the most viewed among the Brazilian players called up, that is, with the highest number of accesses to his profile within the application. Globally, from January to May 2026, there were almost 8.5 million hits. The second is Vini Jr., with almost 7.4 million, and Igor Thiago appears in third, with approximately 6.6 million. In Brazil, Endrick also leads the ranking, followed by Neymar, from Santos, and Danilo, from Flamengo.
Check out the players called up for the World Cup who are most followed on Instagram
- Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal) – 665.4 million
- Lionel Messi (Argentina) – 506.4 million
- Neymar Jr. (Brazil) – 234 million
- Kylian Mbappé (France) – 130.3 million
- Mohamed Salah (Egypt) – 65.5 million
- Vinicius Jr. (Brazil) – 59.8 million
- James Rodríguez (Colombia) – 50.1 million
- Lamine Yamal (Spain) – 43.2 million
- Jude Bellingham (England) – 41.2 million
- Erling Haaland (Norway) – 40.6 million
- Luka Modric (Croatia) – 38.5 million
- Kevin de Bruyne (Belgium) – 26.2 million
- Achraf Hakimi (Morocco) – 23.3 million
- Pedri (Spain) – 22.4 million
- Casemiro (Brazil) – 22.2 million
- Marcus Rashford (England) – 22.2 million
- Federico Valverde (Uruguay) – 21.5 million
- Ousmane Dembelé (France) – 20.9 million
- Memphis Depay (Netherlands) – 19.9 million
- Raphinha (Brazil) – 19.6 million
- Gavi (Spain) – 19.4 million
- Harry Kane (England) – 18.2 million
- Endrick (Brazil) – 17.9 million
- Thibaut Courtois (Belgium) – 17.8 million
- Arda Güler (Türkiye) – 17.7 million
- Virgil Van Dijk (Netherlands) – 17.2 million
- Sadio Mané (Senegal) – 17 million
- N’Golo Kanté (France) – 16.2 million
- David Alaba (Austria) – 15.2 million
