Cape Verde goalkeeper Vozinha World Cup Instagram growth became the tournament’s biggest social media story after he gained more than 17 million followers during the group stage.
LONDON: Cape Verde goalkeeper Vozinha World Cup Instagram growth has emerged as one of the biggest off-field stories of the tournament, with the shot-stopper recording an extraordinary rise in followers during the group stage.
According to new data from a website, Vozinha’s Instagram account grew from just 31,538 followers before the competition to 17,273,781 by 29 June. That represents an increase of more than 17.2 million followers, or approximately 54,671%, making him the tournament’s biggest social media winner by a considerable margin.
The report estimates that his potential earnings from a sponsored Instagram post also increased sharply, rising from around $316 before kick-off to approximately $172,738 by the end of the group stage.
TOP Five PLAYERS BY FOLLOWERS GAINED – GROUP STAGE (8-29 JUNE 2026)
| Rank | Player | Nation | Followers Gained (8-29 June) | % Change | Total Followers (29 June) | Est. Earnings/Post (USD / GBP / EUR) |
| 1. | Vozinha | Cape Verde | +17,242,243 | +54,671% | 17,273,781 followers | $172,738 / £136,014 / €158,475 |
| 2. | Lionel Messi | Argentina | +4,578,743 | +0.90% | 511,117,817 followers | $5.11m / £4.02m / €4.69m |
| 3. | Cristiano Ronaldo | Portugal | +4,291,888 | +0.64% | 669,938,763 followers | $6.70m / £5.28m / €6.15m |
| 4. | Endrick | Brazil | +4,147,875 | +22.66% | 22,454,320 followers | $224,543 / £176,806 / €206,003 |
| 5. | Erling Haaland | Norway | +3,502,489 | +8.62% | 44,146,972 followers | $441,470 / £347,614 / €405,018 |
Among the other standout performers, Brazilian defender Douglas Santos enjoyed one of the fastest rises outside football’s established global stars. His account expanded from 192,754 followers to more than 2.5 million, while Curaçao goalkeeper Eloy Room gained more than one million followers after starting with fewer than 100,000.
Mexico’s Gilberto Mora more than doubled his audience to over 2.1 million followers, while Japan’s Keito Nakamura and Ivory Coast’s Yan Diomande also recorded significant increases throughout the tournament.
Although Vozinha World Cup Instagram growth dominated the rankings, global icons continued to attract millions of new followers. Lionel Messi gained more than 4.5 million followers during the group stage, while Cristiano Ronaldo added over 4.2 million to reach nearly 670 million followers in total. Ronaldo also retained the highest estimated sponsored post value among all players at the tournament.
