Top 10 Most Popular football Players In The World In 2022

Although it’s obvious that every football player is famous because they are stars of millions of hearts. The sport of football itself has over 3.5 billion followers worldwide. We have made a ranking of the most popular soccer players in the world this year as we did in previous years.

Social media is dominating the world, particularly football players who interact with their fans through their social media accounts. This is the catch for us to determine which player has the most followers and huge fanatical fans around the world.

Our evaluation will not only look at fan following but, also sponsoring and successful careers. Let’s take a look at the most popular soccer players in the world right now.

Most Popular Soccer Players | Popularity Ranking 2022:

10. Marcelo – Brazil (Real Madrid):

Marcelo Vieira da Silva Júnior (born 12 May 1988), known as Marcelo, is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a left-back. Known for his offensive capabilities, trickery, and technical qualities, Marcelo is often regarded as one of the greatest left-backs of all time.He is the most awesome player in Real Madrid, with 25 trophies won.

He is one of the most followed footballer in instegram with a huge fan following. There are 30.9 million likes on Cello’s Facebook page. Besides being the most followed person on Facebook, he has 24.9 million followers on Twitter and 53.8 million followers on Instagram.

On all of his social media accounts, he has accumulated 76.2 million followers. In addition to his amazing fan following, he has also been sponsored by many companies who pay him a large sum of money.

As well as being one of football’s most famous players, Marcelo is also one of its richest. It is estimated that he is worth $16 million US dollars.

9. Mohamed Salah – Egypt (Liverpool):

Mohamed Salah Hamed Mahrous Ghaly  (born 15 June 1992) is an Egyptian professional footballer who plays as a forward or on the rightwing for Premier League club Liverpool and captain the Egypth National football team. Considered one of the best players in the world and amongst the greatest African players of all time, he is known for his finishing, dribbling, and speed.

Salah is known for his propensity and his dribbling. He is one of the most popular football players with a huge fan following across the world. He has 15.6 million followers on his Twitter account.

Aside from being the most followed athlete on Twitter he also has 49.1 million followers on Instagram and 14 million on Facebook. Besides, he is also one of the higest-paid soccer player right now.

Following his huge success and being loved by millions of fans, he now has a sponsorship deal with sportswear supplier Adidas that pays handsomely. Having a $88 million net worth Salah has earned his 9th position among our 10 most popular soccer players in the world right now.

8. Virgil Van Dijk – Netherlands (Liverpool):

Virgil van Dijk (born 8 July 1991) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a center-back for Premier League club  and the Netherland national team. Considered one of the best defenders in the world,Van Dijk is known for his strength, leadership and aerial ability.He is the only defender to win UEFA Men's player of the year, and has finished runner-up for the Ballon d'Or and Best FIFA Men's Player of the year.A phenomenal career has helped him gain popularity. He is one of the richest and most famous footballers in the world

He has 2.8 million followers on Twitter, 11.7 million followers on Instagram, and 5.8 million followers on his Facebook account. In addition to his popularity, he also has brands that sponsor him, paying him a handsome sum of money.

It is widely known that he has a sense of humor and a kind personality that makes people like him. His achievements and his popularity earn him 8th spot in our top 10 most popular soccer players in the world right now.

7. Erling Haaland –Norway(Borussia Dortmund):

Erling Braut Haaland (born 21 July 2000) is a Norwegian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Premier League club Manchester city and the Norway National team. Considered one of the best players in the world, he is known for his athleticism, speed, and finishing.

During his very short time in the football world, he has achieved multiple awards including Eliteserien breakthrough of the year, Austrian Footballer of the Year, and FIFA U-20 World Cup Golden Boot.

Erling is well known for his fast-moving and for his striking skills. He is considered one of the most popular footballers. Haaland has an enormous fan following on different accounts of social media like 15 million followers on Instagram, 10 million followers on Facebook, and 1.3 million followers on Twitter.

He is charming and looks awesome to his fans. All the people who admire him, say he is one of the cutest players in football history. Erling also earns from a sponsorship deal with US sportswear manufacturer Nike.

6.Robert Lewandowski–Poland(Bayern Munich):

Robert Lewandowski ( born 21 August 1988) is a Polish professional footballer who plays as a striker for Bundesliga club Bayern Munich and captain the Poland National team. Recognised for his positioning, technique and finishing, Lewandowski is considered one of the best strikers of all time, as well as one of the most successful players in Bundesliga history. He has scored over 600 senior career goals for club and country.

The handsome and very appealing face of this player coupled with his blue eyes makes him the most handsome player in the league.

He has an enormous fan following on social media. Robert has 25.8 million followers on Instagram. Besides being the most followed player on Instagram he has 1.85 million followers on Twitter and 22 million followers on Facebook.

He earns a lot of money from sponsorship. Robert Lewandowski has endorsed brands like Nike, Huawei, Opel, EA Sports in the past and currently endorses CoverGirl and sports drink brand Oshie. With a net worth of $182 million, he is one of the richest footballers in 2022.

5. Kevin De Bruyne –Belgium (Manchester City):

Kevin De Bruyne (born 28 June 1991) is a Belgian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Premier League club Manchester city and the Belgium National team . He is widely regarded as one of the best players in the world and of his generation. Pundits have often described him as a "complete footballer".

The handsome Kevin is considered the most famous football player in 2022. He has achieved multiple awards which is the biggest reason behind his popularity.

He has achieved Bundesliga Young Player of the Year, Footballer of the Year (Germany), and Manchester City Player of the Season. Kevin has crazy fans while having 16.8 million followers on Instagram, 1.85 million followers on Twitter, and 14 million followers on Facebook account.

Apart from his popularity, he is also one of the richest footballers, his net worth is $85 Million. The wealth of De Bruyne comes from a mixture of lucrative contracts and sponsorship deals with Nike, EA Sports, and Orange.

4. Paulo Dybala – Argentina (Juventus):

Paulo Exequiel Dybala (born 15 November 1993) is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a forward for the Argentina National team  and is currently a free agent.

The handsome hunk has millions of crazy fans following around the world. He has won many titles including Serie A Team of the Year, Serie A Most Valuable Player, and Coppa Italia. He is well known for his deep blue eyes and his innocence.

Dybala has a huge fan following on his social media accounts like 45.8 million followers on Instagram, 2.2 million followers on Twitter, and 15 million followers on his Facebook account. He is famous for his charm and his amazing playing tactics.

Besides his all fan following on social media accounts, he also has a huge paying brand for sponsorship Adidas. He is among the richest soccer players also having a net worth of $40 million. Surely, Dybala is in the 4th spot in our top 10 most popular soccer players in the world right now.

3. Neymar – Brazil (Paris Saint-Germain):

Neymar da Silva Santos Júnior (born 5 February 1992), known as Neymar, is a Brazilian professional footballer  who plays as a winger for Ligue 1 club Paris saint-Germain and the Brazil National team. He is considered a versatile player, being able to play as either a central striker, second striker, winger or occasionally as an attacking midfielder. A prolific goalscorer and renowned Playmaker, he is regarded as one of the best players in the world. Neymar has scored at leads 100 goals for three different clubs, making him one of three players to achieve this.

Neymar was twice named the South American Footballer of the Year, in 2011 and 2012, and soon relocated to Europe to join Barcelona. He is the giant who won various prizes in his career including La Liga Best World Player, Copa America, and FIFA Confederations Cup Golden Ball.

In his entire career, he scored 200 goals in 333 games. Neymar is well known by all football lovers and has a huge fan following across the globe. NJR has millions of fans following on social media like 56.3 million followers on Twitter, 138 million followers on Instagram, and 84 million followers on Facebook.

He is also one of the highest-paid athletes of this year with a net worth of $200 million. Neymar has a sponsorship with Puma which is paying him $35 million/year.

2.Lionel Messi –Argentina(Paris Saint-Germain):

Lionel Andrés Messi ( born 24 June 1987), also known as Leo Messi, is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a forward for Ligue 1 club Paris saint-Germain and captain the Argentina National team. Often considered the best player in the world and widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time, Messi has won a record seven Ballon d'Or awards, a record six European Golden Shoes, and in 2020 was named to the Ballon d'Or Dream team,. Until leaving the club in 2021, he had spent his entire professional career with Barcelona, where he won a club-record 35 trophies, including ten La Liga titles, seven Copa del Rey titles and four UEFA Champions Leagues. A prolific goalscorer and creative playmaker, Messi holds the records for most goals in La Liga (474), a La Liga and European league season (50), most  hat-tricks in La Liga (36) and the UEFA Champions League (8), and most assists in La Liga (192), a La Liga  season (21) and the Copa America (17). He also holds the record for most international goals by a South American male (86). Messi has scored over 750 senior career goals  for club and country, and has the most goals by a player for a single club.

Leo has a very huge fan following across the globe. He has 307 million followers on Instagram and 90.5 million likes on Facebook. Messi doesn’t use a Twitter account, still, he gained 256.5 million fans all over the world.

He also has a lifelong deal with Adidas. And Leo is well known for his kind personality and his positive attitude toward all his fellow players. Lionel Messi deserves 2nd spot out of the 10 most popular soccer players in the world right now.

1.Cristiano Ronaldo – Portugal(Manchester United):

Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro ( born 5 February 1985) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a forward for Premier League club Manchester United and captain the Portugal National team. Often considered the best player in the world and widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time, Ronaldo has won five Ballon d'Or  awards and four European Golden  Shoes, the most by a European player. He has won 32 trophies in his career, including seven league titles, five UEFA Champions Leagues, and the UEFA European Championship. Ronaldo holds the records for most appearance (183), goals (140), and assists (42) in the Champions League, goals in the  European Championship(14),International goals (117), and international appearances by a European (189). He is one of the few players to have made over 1,100 professional career appearances, and has scored over 800 official senior career goals  for club and country.

CR7 is one of those players who believe in hard work and being the best on the pitch or off the pitch. According to a report published last year, he earns more money from Instagram sponsorship deals than he does from wages with Juventus. The giant has fanatical fans around the world. People are going crazy just to see him only once.

And why not, Cristiano Ronaldo is a dashing, handsome, and most successful player in the world. CR7 has 122 million followers on Facebook, 400 million followers on Instagram, and 988 million followers on Twitter.

He is one of the most-followed people on all social media accounts. Football lovers just follow what he says or does. For sure he deserves 1st spot on the 10 most popular soccer players in the world right now.