Is 39-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo on his way to becoming the must-follow YouTuber of the moment? With almost 917 million followers on social networks, the Portuguese football player has decided to branch out to YouTube, the world’s leading video-streaming platform, ahead of Instagram and Netflix.
Launched on Aug 21, his channel, called “UR – Cristiano”, already has 53.9 million subscribers as of press time. What’s more, the million-subscriber mark was reached just 1 hour 29 minutes after the channel’s launch, according to Variety – a feat that makes the channel the fastest ever to reach this milestone.
Two days later, the player from Saudi Arabia’s Al-Nassr club broke another record, surpassing 30 million subscribers.
“I am very happy to make this project come to life,” said Ronaldo. “It has been in my mind for a long time, but finally, we have the opportunity to make it real.
“I have always enjoyed having such a strong relationship with fans on social media, and my YouTube channel will give me an even bigger platform to do so and they will learn more about me, my family, and my views on many different subjects. I am also looking forward to sharing conversations with guests that will no doubt surprise people!”
The channel now features around 20 online videos. While the least popular has racked up just over five million views, the “Golden Button” video is now approaching 50 million.
This video, filmed in portrait format, shows the moment when the star shows his children the trophy sent by YouTube for setting a new record as the fastest channel to reach a million subscribers.
Aside from this, the content on offer includes games or challenges to enjoy with friends and family. There are some very short videos, either featuring the footballer’s son, Cristiano Jr, or with his first guest, partner Georgina Rodriguez.
While many of the videos are fairly concise, the latest features a discussion between former football player Rio Ferdinand and the Portugal captain about his future. In just one day, the video surpassed nine million views.
And this kind of performance is bound to be lucrative: according to the Socialblade website, Ronaldo could pocket up to €1.2 million in additional revenue per month through this venture.