Ronaldo’s YouTube Record Continues to Break the Internet

A true record breaker.

Let’s kick this off with a big truth: Cristiano Ronaldo has been a record breaker pretty much since he started his football career. 

If you’re not aware of what he has achieved, I’m here to help with just a tiny taste: He’s still the all-time top scorer for Real Madrid with 450 goals in 438 appearances, he's got the most goals ever scored in the Champions League (140+) and a total of 6 Ballon d’Or(s). And the list just keeps going on and on.

It seems that Cristiano’s legacy is defined by his ability to not just excel as an athlete, but to keep breaking and setting new records.

And he does that not just in football.

The biggest IG influencer in the world is now on YT.

It’s no news that Cristiano is the most followed person ever to exist on Instagram. In 2018, he had 144 million IG followers. He has now climbed up to 636 million. Nothing to see here! Just a tiny 341% increase in followers in the past 6 years. I would need to get in touch with Insta to check if this is - guess what - another record.

Cristiano launched his personal YT channel on Wednesday this week. Now hear this: Within 90 mins of the launch, Cristiano hit 1 million subscribers and was presented with a gold YT plaque. He has now reached 31.4 million subscribers and has just broken ANOTHER record: The quickest YouTuber to achieve this figure in such a short time.

But one might wonder: Why YouTube? 

Well, for starters, it’s one of the major social networks that Cristiano never had a presence in, at least until now. For a major celebrity, there are infinite product placement/ branding opportunities there.

The great CR7 is 39, in the final years of his football career. A YouTube channel is a brand and media channel that can and will live outside of him, further down the line, long after his football career.

We live in a social media era where long form/episodic content is rising in popularity. Knowing that people will always want a piece of his private life, there is a great opportunity for CR7 to give his audience what they want.

Cristiano CAN theoretically reach over 900M people with a post (if his team were to post on IG, X, FB and now YT). Imagine if you could do that! 

From a social perspective, we know how powerful that is. It feels unparalleled. A social media powerhouse that has the potential to reach and influence people beyond the world of sports - but does that power lie in just how high these reach numbers are? 

Ronaldo’s social persona.

Ronaldo has cultivated a personal brand that embodies hard work, excellence and luxury. His strategy of opening up to the world, showcasing his workout routines, family moments with Georgina and 3rd party endorsements, creates an authentic connection with his followers, even if this persona feels distant to the every-day life of the average follower. 

At M&C Saatchi Sport & Entertainment we worked with Ronaldo for many years across his personal CR7 brands and saw his interest and engagement in his own social channels grow over that time into viewing them as a creative outlet that enabled him to showcase his playful personality and the many facets to his lifestyle off the pitch, truly representing him in an intimate and candid way. 

Cristiano does not sit back and expect his followers to resonate with his life. That’s impossible. But he’s built an honest image of a self-grown athlete that has resulted in a life of ultimate success. And he’s done that with hard work. YouTube will only grow this legacy. In short, Cristiano Ronaldo will be bigger as a brand, will increase his revenue streams and will build a bright future for the Ronaldo family, for generations to come.

What brands can learn from this.

Firstly, this is a huge reminder of how popular long-format content is becoming again. YouTube is a space for brands to tell a longer story, invite their audience to be part of it, while welcoming new subs.

Secondly, it reminds brands that social media is a jungle. And in this jungle brands often get caught in a never-ending cycle of over-trying, desperately seeking consumer attention, and that’s not necessarily always good. 

We’re in a place in time where brands sometimes need to stop trying too hard and focus on what the brand is about. Why does your brand exist? What problems are you solving? How are you making lives better and driving real change? What is your story?

Authenticity as a term has never become more saturated in the social media world. As true as it might be, consumers DO crave it. And they look to connect with brands that are genuine and real. 

In the social media world, let’s try to stay away from social tactics that overtly try - almost force a connection with audiences. 

Instead, let’s dive into the brand's core story and mission. Let’s be real, be impactful, and people will connect on a deeper level.

This way, we’ll break records. Like Cristiano.