Who are the most followed clubs and players on Instagram?
By Peter Smith
Image:Which UK club is the most popular on Instagram?
Manchester United are the UK's most popular club on Instagram, with over 14m people following their account for their latest photos and videos.
United's total number of followers is over six million more than second-placed Arsenal (8.1m), while Chelsea are third on the list with 7.7m followers, according to data exclusively compiled for Sky Sports.
Image:Manchester United are the most-followed UK club
Top 20 most-followed UK football clubs on Instagram
Rank
Team
Followers
1
Man Utd
14.3m
2
Arsenal
8.1m
3
Chelsea
7.7m
4
Man City
3.9m
5
Liverpool
3.4m
6
Leicester
1.3m
7
Tottenham
914k
8
Everton
322k
9
West Ham
311k
10
Southampton
245k
11
Stoke
201k
12
Aston Villa
160k
13
Crystal Palace
151k
14
Celtic
146k
15
Swansea
134k
16
Sunderland
123k
17
Watford
110k
18
Bournemouth
104k
19
West Brom
104k
20
Rangers
102k
Instagram has a 500m-strong community, with one in three people on the social media site (around 165m) following a sports account.
Image:Jose Mourinho posted this image on Instagram of him working out in his new office
Football is the most popular sport on the site, and the opportunity for fans, athletes and clubs to connect has encouraged many of the game's biggest stars to open an account.
Image:David Beckham - the most-followed UK footballer - posted this picture of his former Real Madrid team-mate Luis Figo
Former Manchester United and England ace David Beckham is the most popular UK footballer with 30.4m followers, ahead of Real Madrid and Wales star Gareth Bale (24m). Current United and England captain Wayne Rooney is a distant third with 8.3m followers.
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Most followed UK footballers on Instagram
Rank
Player
Followers
1
David Beckham
30.4m
2
Gareth Bale
24m
3
Wayne Rooney
8.3m
4
Steven Gerrard
5.1m
5
John Terry
2.7m
6
Daniel Sturridge
2.6m
7
Aaron Ramsey
2.4m
8
Raheem Sterling
2.1m
9
Luke Shaw
2m
T10
Theo Walcott & Jack Wilshere
1.9m
However, those numbers pale in comparison to the popularity of the biggest football accounts in the world.
Image:Ronaldo took to Instagram to express his delight at Portugal winning Euro 2016
Cristiano Ronaldo is the most-followed footballer on the planet with a massive 80.8m users signed up to see his latest posts.