Lionel Messi collects his World Cup success on Instagram – unlike Cristiano Ronaldo

Soccer star Lionel Messi is set to make millions from sponsored Instagram posts after his World Cup success with Argentina – and he could even overtake his great rival Cristiano Ronaldo.

Since winning the World Cup on December 18, Messi’s official Instagram account, which has 414 million followers, has featured Budweiser beer, video games Call of Duty and eFootball, energy drink Gatorade, crypto exchange Bitget and the company Orcam advertised for artificial glasses.

It suggests Messi’s sponsors are craving paid partnerships to capitalize on his World Cup glory, with the star earning over £9million so far.

Brands are scrambling to capitalize on Lionel Messi’s World Cup success with Argentina, with the star poised to earn millions in social media endorsements

Messi promotes artificial glasses company OrCam in a sponsored post on his Instagram account, which has 414 million followers worldwide

The Argentinian star appears in another post in an advert for sports-energy drink Gatorade

In another branded post, Messi pocketed the popular video game series Call of Duty

In contrast, Ronaldo has not posted a single paid partnership to his 528 million Instagram followers since Portugal were eliminated from the World Cup by underdogs Morocco on December 10.

Ronaldo’s dismal World Cup could hurt his status as the highest-earning Instagram celebrity as Messi is poised to overtake him.

Ronaldo, 37, topped Hopper’s most recent Instagram rich list, earning around $2.4million (£2million) per branded post. That had skyrocketed from around £1.16m per post in the 2021 ranking.

The Portuguese striker, who has just signed a £175m-a-year deal with Saudi Arabian club Al Nassr after leaving Manchester United, promotes brands including Nike, Clear Shampoo, Louis Vuitton, bitcoin exchange Binance and app Livescore.

In contrast, Messi’s rival Cristiano Ronaldo has not reported any sponsorship contacts since Portugal’s World Cup elimination against underdogs Morocco

Messi sponsor Budweiser beer benefited from the Argentine’s performance at the World Cup

In another post, Messi promoted the video game EFootball 2023 in Argentinian colors

Messi was third on Hopper’s list and commanded $1.77m (£1.5m) per branded Instagram post, but his World Cup success, which in the eyes of many confirmed him as the greatest footballer of all time, left him narrow the gap to Ronaldo.

The two footballers are split by American celebrity Kylie Jenner, who has 377million followers and rakes in around $1.8million (£1.52million) a post.

Messi and Ronaldo’s Instagram earnings dwarf that of the second highest-earning sportsman, Indian cricketer Virat Kohli, whose cost per sponsored post is $1.08 million (£902,000).

Messi, 35, made social media history when an Instagram picture of him lifting the World Cup trophy became the most popular post ever.

It has amassed more than 75 million likes since it was posted on December 18, surpassing an image of an egg posted by British advertising executive Chris Godfrey in 2019.

Lionel Messi’s picture of him lifting the World Cup trophy has become the most popular Instagram picture of all time – overtaking a picture of an egg

A later post from Messi in bed with the World Cup after the team returned to Argentina garnered over 50 million likes.

Paris Saint-Germain star Messi also has endorsements from Adidas, PepsiCo, Sozios.com, Sorare, Byju’s and Louis Vuitton.

In fact, Messi and Ronaldo posed together while playing chess for the luxury fashion label ahead of the World Cup in Qatar.

A post showing Messi curling up in bed with the World Cup trophy garnered over 50 million likes

Messi and Ronaldo posed together playing chess in an advertisement for fashion brand Louis Vuitton

Ronaldo’s lucrative move to Al Nassr has made him the highest earner in world sport, overtaking Messi and basketball star LeBron James.

Messi earns £103.4million a year but that’s dwarfed by Ronaldo’s new salary, let alone his off-field sponsorships.

Argentina defeated France on penalties in a thrilling final to win the World Cup for the third time. Messi scored seven goals during the tournament, including two in the final, and finished second in the goalscoring list only behind Frenchman Kylian Mbappe.

His performances earned him the Golden Ball for Best Player of the World Cup.