As the summer transfer window was winding down, Antony made a huge money move from Ajax to Manchester United. Since the blockbuster transfer deal, which broke a few fee records, Antony saw the following on his official Instagram account increase by about 211% during the past few months. He now has close to 5 million followers and that ranks him the #3 “breakthrough star” according to sport media analysts Nielsen.
The media concern analyzed the Instagram followings of all of the top individual players and teams participating in the upcoming World Cup, in order to determine who the top influencers are.
View this post on Instagram
Based on data from August 2021-July 2022, the rankings were based on a compilation of indicators like followers, follower growth rate, engagement rate and average commercial brand value per post. Is that enough corporatespeak bs for you?
A teammate of Antony, Cristiano Ronaldo, took the top overall spot. France was ranked the most powerful men’s national team on IG, with Antony’s Brazil coming in second. Nielsen also made a list of the World Cup’s most powerful young “breakthrough stars,” and that was determined by who had seen the biggest growth surges on the social media app this past year.
Although it didn’t specify the exact date in which Antony saw his number of followers, replies, likes, etc saw their biggest single day surge, it is safe to say that it happened when he scored in his United debut, a 3-1 win over table topping and then undefeated Arsenal.
Paul M. Banks is the owner/manager of The Bank (TheSportsBank.Net) and author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” as well as “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He has regularly appeared in WGN, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune, and he co-hosts the After Extra Time podcast, part of Edge of the Crowd Network. Follow him and the website on Twitter and Instagram.