Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi have dominated Instagram once again.
Ronaldo’s post depicting the pair of all-time great soccer players playing chess against one another has garnered 36.9 million likes as of writing — the second-most-liked Instagram post of all time.
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Messi’s accompanying post has 28.5 million likes — so far, the fifth-most-liked post on the platform ever.
The images posted Sunday — the day of the 2022 World Cup’s start — were part of a paid partnership with Louis Vuitton and were captured by world-famous photographer Annie Leibovitz.
Including the new campaign, Ronaldo and Messi are each responsible for four of the top 20 most-liked Instagram posts of all time.
Ronaldo also recently became the first person to hit 500 million followers in the social media giant’s history.
According to Nielsen, the average media value of a branded social post from Ronaldo is worth $2.79 million while one from Messi is worth $1.95 — the two most for any soccer player in the world.
For as much clout as the two GOATs carry, they still can’t approach the most-liked Instagram post of all time.
That honor belongs to a picture of an egg that has captured 55.9 million likes since January 2019.
![[Subscription Customers Only] Jun 15, 2025; Seattle, Washington, USA; Botafogo owner John Textor inside the stadium before the match during a group stage match of the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup at Lumen Field.](https://frontofficesports.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/USATSI_26465842_168416386_lowres-scaled.jpg?quality=100&w=1024)
