The Cristiano Ronaldo effect? Manchester United become fourth most followed football club on Instagram

Cristiano Ronaldo’s Man United stint

Cristiano Ronaldo would, of course, make his long-awaited return to Manchester United over the summer.

With Ronaldo, Jadon Sancho and Raphael Varane all arriving in one window, expectations were no doubt high on the red half of Manchester.

However, for the most part, Man United have failed to deliver this term as a squad.

Ronaldo, though, has, for the most part, continued to showcase his extraordinary talent on the biggest stage.

CR7 was a passenger during Man United’s 5-0 drubbing at the hands of Liverpool. But he played a key role in their 3-0 win over Tottenham the following weekend.

His latest heroics, meanwhile, saw him score a brace vs Atalanta in the Champions League earlier this week to secure United a valuable point.

No way Ronaldo! 😱😱😱

How does he keep on doing this!

Such a clean volley to rescue Man Utd yet again! pic.twitter.com/UaVyRFQsy6

— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) November 2, 2021

Manchester United surpass Juventus

Whilst United’s affairs on the pitch have been mixed at best since Ronaldo returned, the Portuguese star’s impact has certainly been felt in a positive way off the pitch.

Ronaldo, much like Lionel Messi, has a loyal fanbase that supports him wherever he is going. We have already seen this when it was reported that Juventus lost over 300,000 followers on social media after Ronaldo left the club.

BERGAMO, ITALY – NOVEMBER 02: Christiano Ronaldo of Manchester United celebrates scoring his teams second goal during the UEFA Champions League group F match between Atalanta and Manchester United at Gewiss Stadium on November 02, 2021 in Bergamo, Italy. (Photo by Chloe Knott – Danehouse/Getty Images)

And now, following Ronaldo’s return to Manchester, United have become the 4^th-most followed club on Instagram surpassing the 36-year-old’s former club, Juventus.

The top three are currently Real Madrid, Barcelona and PSG which, interestingly, Messi and Ronaldo have either played for or currently play for.

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