Football News:Cristiano Ronaldo is now the 'most powerful' Instagram athlete 

Sports media analysts Nielsen compiled a list of the top players and teams competing in Qatar based on their Instagram followings to determine who has the most online clout. Ronaldo came out on top, edging out his rival Lionel Messi.

While Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has not included him in their starting lineup on a consistent basis, his popularity has skyrocketed online.

Ronaldo became one of the best players in the world during his first stint with Manchester United and Real Madrid, and he has been a cultural phenomenon ever since.

According to the study, the 37-year-old generates an average of over £3 million in media value per post. The forward has 480 million followers on Instagram and uses the medium to promote products and share updates from matches and training.

His massive fan base much surpasses that of his main competitor, Lionel Messi, by a factor of 100 million. The Argentine superstar's fan base may have grown by 38% in the past year, but it still pales in comparison to Ronaldo's.

Rankings were determined using Nielsen Gracenote's influencer assessment tool, which takes into account factors like the number of followers, the percentage of posts that garner engagement, the rate of new follower acquisition, and the average brand value per Instagram post.

Who are the other football stars on the list?

The ranking's second most influential player is Argentina forward Lionel Messi, followed by Brazil's Neymar at third.

Messi, at 35, has amassed a following of 359 million on social media, which generates $2.6 million in media value per post. Neymar, who is 30 years old, has 177 million followers and generates $1.2 million in media value with each post.

France's Kylian Mbappe is the only other player set to participate who generates more than $1 million in media value per post.

Brazilian forward Vinicius Junior, who scored the game-winning goal in last year's Champions League final, has seen the greatest increase in his number of followers (89.69%) among the top 10, while French midfielder N'Golo Kante has seen the greatest increase in his engagement rate (11.18%) in the top 10.

Kante, a midfielder for Chelsea, is the lone representative of the Premier League in the top 10. He's currently in eighth place, ahead of France teammate Paul Pogba, who has more followers but a lower growth rate, engagement rate, and value per post.

Pogba, whose Instagram posts are worth £356,000 each to sponsors, has just 10 days to recover from a knee injury before the start of the tournament in Qatar, making time of the essence.

Gavi, a promising young midfielder for Spain, has been singled out as the most exciting newcomer at this year's World Cup. Gavi, a player for FC Barcelona, has had his fan base increase by 5,165% during the past 12 months.

Nielsen Gracenote claims that France's World Cup team has the most followers and likes on Instagram. More than 11.7 million people are fans of the national soccer squad on their official page. This surpasses the 11.3 million in Brazil and the 10.3 million in Portugal, who are the next closest in terms of official page followers.