Catholic soccer legend becomes first person to hit 1bn social media followers

Soccer superstar Cristiano Ronaldo has hit 1bn total followers across his various social media accounts – making him the first person to reach that mind-boggling figure.

The number is calculated by combining his total number of followers across Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Chinese social media sites Weibo and Kuaishou.

It does not equate to one billion individual followers, as many people will follow him across multiple platforms, and some will be fake accounts, known as bots.

Nonetheless social media expert Paolo Pescatore, from PP Foresight, described it as a “staggering number” that media and brands would pay close attention to.

“What an achievement, and it further underlines the fundamental shift taking place in media.”

It showed “the power to reach new, younger audiences thanks to technology”, he told the BBC.

Throughout his career Ronaldo, who is Catholic, has always cited his faith as being more important than his fame.

“God has always been very good to me,” he says.

“I go to church every week,” the former Real Madrid star told the Daily Mirror.

“I am Catholic and I go to thank God for everything he gives me … “I don’t ask for anything, thanks to God I have everything, I simply thank him for protecting my family and friends.

The footballer reached his social media milestone thanks to his decision to join YouTube last month, where his channel rocketed to 50 million subscribers within a single week.

So far, the channel consists mainly of conversations between Ronaldo and his wife Georgina Rodríguez, as well as his former Manchester United colleague Rio Ferdinand.