Michael Jordan has been told that if there were any major changes in the 1990s, he would be better than Cristiano Ronaldo.
Five-time Ballon d’Or winner Ronaldo is arguably the most marketable athlete in the world at the moment, his global appeal almost unmatched.
Ronaldo has 647 million followers on Instagram – making him the most followed person on the platform – as well as 72.9 million subscribers on his YouTube channel.
Social media was not around when six-time NBA champion Jordan was in his prime with the Chicago Bulls and he currently does not have an official account.
But if social media had been a thing in his great era, with his incredible popularity, former teammate Scottie Pippen believes he would have surpassed Ronaldo’s popularity.
“I think he probably doubled it, I’ll be honest…” Pippen said pbd podcast When host Patrick Bate-David asked him what Jordan’s social media numbers would be.
“So the game was growing then. And, you know, at that time, I, Michael, had already been in the game four or five years.”
Jordan was the original face of Nike and according to ESPN, a 1996 study by Warner Bros. found he was one of the most famous people on the planet, along with Princess Diana and the Pope.
Michael Jordan’s popularity in the 1990s was incredible. Image: Getty
Ronaldo is believed to earn $3.23 million per sponsored post on Instagram – more than any other celebrity.
Last year, the former Real Madrid and Manchester United superstar posted 46 ‘sponsored’ posts – either to promote a paid partnership or a brand or product – including Binance, VisitMadeira, CR7 Fragrance, Saudi Arabia’s 2034 World Cup. With Boli, UFL, Herbalife and Whoop. Some ventures to get exposure.
Several years ago, a firm was able to obtain 30–40 posts on Ronaldo’s channels for a fee of £250,000, which was described as an “incredible deal”.
Jordan has expressed his views on social media
Despite having the potential to become a vehicle to deliver even more money to Jordan’s bank account, His Airness has gone on record saying he would not enjoy playing in a time when social media use is widespread.
He said to the cigar lover: “For someone like me and that’s what Tiger [Woods] The deal is that I don’t know if I would have survived in these Twitter times, where you don’t have the privacy you want, and something that seems very innocent can always be misinterpreted.”