LONDON: Portuguese football star Cristiano Ronaldo has shattered the YouTube record for the fastest-growing channel, achieving a milestone just hours after its launch.
The Al-Nassr forward reached 1 million subscribers in just 90 minutes, setting a new benchmark for the fastest subscriber growth on the platform.
By the time of writing, Ronaldo’s channel had amassed more than 22 million subscribers.
“The wait is over. My @YouTube channel is finally here! SIUUUbscribe and join me on this new journey,” Ronaldo posted on Instagram on Wednesday.
To celebrate, the five-time Ballon d’Or winner shared a video on Instagram showing his children holding a gold “play button” plaque awarded by YouTube for surpassing 1 million subscribers.
Some fans speculated that YouTube had prepared the plaque before Ronaldo officially launched his channel.
“A present for my family. Thank you to all the SIUUUbscribers!,” the footballer wrote.
Ronaldo’s YouTube channel, “UR Ronaldo,” features 19 videos, including full-length content and shorts. It quickly overtook the channel of his longtime rival, Argentine footballer Lionel Messi, which has just over 2 million subscribers.
Ronaldo, recently chosen to promote Saudi Arabia’s bid for the FIFA 2034 World Cup, is no stranger to breaking records both on and off the pitch.
In 2022, he became the first person to reach 400 million followers on Instagram and now ranks as the second most-followed account after Instagram’s official page.
In total, Ronaldo boasts 941 million followers across Instagram, Facebook, X and YouTube.
