Lionel Messi earned an astonishing €26.8m from Instagram, second only to Cristiano Ronaldo

Barcelona skipper Lionel Messi was recently announced as the second-highest earning male football star in the world, after his arch-rival Cristiano Ronaldo. The Argentina icon found himself behind the five-time Ballon d'Or in yet another list, with the Barcelona star earning €26.8 million ($30.4 million) from Instagram posts. 

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Cristiano Ronaldo beats Lionel Messi in Instagram earnings 

According to a report by Buzz Bingo, Lionel Messi was placed second on the list of highest-earning global personalities via their Instagram accounts. The 32-year-old earned €670,000 ($760,000) per Instagram post which rounds off to €26.8 million ($30.4 million) in the past year. On the other hand, Juventus superstar Cristiano Ronaldo pocketed €44.3 million ($50.3 million) in a span of 12 months, thus topping the charts. The Portuguese great earned an average of €1.3 million ($1.17 million) per post, according to the report. 

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Lionel Messi Instagram earnings: Neymar, Ibrahimovic make it to the list 

Four other athletes have made it to the esteemed list apart from Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. The list includes Indian cricket team captain Virat Kohli, who occupies the fifth spot. Kohli earned €13.8 million ($15.7 million) through Instagram last year. Manchester United legend and Inter Miami owner David Beckham is placed next to Kohli, with estimated earnings of €10.2 million ($11.6 million). The list also includes Lionel Messi's former teammate and Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) star Neymar Jr, who occupies the eighth spot having earned €7.1 million ($8.1 million), while AC Milan striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic occupied the 10th spot with €6.7 million ($7.6 million) in earnings.

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Lionel Messi injury update ahead of LaLiga return

According to TV3, Lionel Messi missed Barcelona's training on Wednesday, citing an adductor injury. The report also claims that the six-time Ballon d'Or winner underwent an MRI scan on Tuesday to ascertain the extent of his injury. He is likely to miss out on making the Barcelona squad as they resume their season with a late kickoff against Mallorca upon the LaLiga return.

Spanish publication AS claims that Lionel Messi picked up a muscle injury. However, the club remains optimistic of his return ahead of their LaLiga clash. Despite injury issues, his impact on the field for the Catalan giants has been enormous this campaign. This season, he has scored 24 goals across all competitions. Barcelona lead the race for the title in LaLiga with 58 points to their credit. Arch-rivals Real Madrid trail the defending LaLiga champions on the table as they are two points behind Lionel Messi and co.

Image courtesy: LaLiga.com/Juventus.com

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