Cristiano Ronaldo is the most followed individual on the platform and that marketing level comes at a very high price to any sponsor who wishes to exploit it.
Ronaldo is the highest-earning athlete on the platform but, according to a report in The Sun, all is not quite as it seems.
The rise of bot accounts has been plaguing social media for the past few years, and it seems Ronaldo is not immune to the disease.
The Sun estimates that Ronaldo has around 92 million fake followers – more than the population of the United Kingdom and 23 per cent of his total Instagram following.
The report also claimed that Ronaldo is earning nearly £400,000 (Bt17.5 million) per post due to the bots alone.
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That places him on top of the rankings when it comes to bot earning.
Footballers with the most fake followers on Instagram and how much they earn from them:
The above figures are estimates and the players themselves are not responsible for the swathes of fake followers they have.