Neymar crowned King of Social Media Influence in Brazil

• The Paris Saint-Germain superstar has 257m followers on social media, more than the population of Brazil (211m)

Neymar Jr, the samba superstar at Paris Saint-Germain has topped the PMPR table of social media influencers in the Brazil squad selected for upcoming FIFA World Cup Qualifying matches against Bolivia and Peru.

The 28-year-old forward has 257m followers across his official Twitter, Instagram and Facebook accounts, making him the most followed player in the Brazil national football team. Barcelona’s Philippe Coutinho is second with 27.7m and Casemiro of Real Madrid is in third with 23.9m.

To put Neymar’s incredible social media audience into context, his following (257m) is more than the combined audience of his Brazil team-mates (140m) and the entire population of Brazil (211m). His social media audience also dwarves that of his club, Paris Saint-Germain (80m).

Neymar has some ground to make up on his former La Liga rivals though, with former Barcelona team-mate Lionel Messi (268m) and Juventus’ star Cristiano Ronaldo (463m) both having larger social media followings than Neymar.

This research and analysis was conducted by the public relations, digital and football agency PMPR Excellence to analyse social media influence within the Brazil national team. This follows research published last season into the players and clubs of the Scottish Premiership, English Premier League and UEFA Champions League. 

The Editor of the PMPR Football Social Influencer Tables Gordon Sheach said: “While it is clear that Neymar is a leading player in world football on the pitch, it is incredible to see the strength of his social media brand compared to his Brazil team-mates and his club. The fact he has more followers than the population of Brazil is staggering.”

Publisher of the PMPR Football Social Influencer Tables and Owner, Chairman - Director of PMPR Excellence Peter McLean commented: “Neymar Junior’s global appeal keeps growing. The added value he brings to his club and national association and related sponsors is highly significant. When you consider that from his phone, he can communicate in seconds with more than the entire population of Brazil it is remarkable. Not only Brazil’s best footballer but also Brazil’s most significant media outlet.”

Disclaimer. PMPR has sought to make every reasonable effort to ensure that the data and analysis is correct. All data was collected 1 October 2020 and provides a snapshot at that time. Please send any corrections or updates to digital@prexcellence.com.  It should be noted that people can of course follow multiple players and clubs across multiple channels, so this analysis measures total audience rather than unique followers. Some players do not have any social media accounts or have chosen not to have publicly visible profiles.

A full breakdown of all the PMPR Football Social Influencer Tables can be found at : www.prexcellence.com/football-social-influencer-tables  

Naturally reach is only one metric of influence, engagement is an also important measurement tool.

***The Football Social Influencer Tables concept remain the exclusive property of PMPR Excellence Ltd. If publishing extracts please credit the PMPR Football Social Influencer Tables and mention our website www.prexcellence.com/football-social-influencer-tables ***