Soccer fans scare me. Their level of deadly, city-burning fervor for their chosen passion is matched only by the fabled Swifties, or perhaps the legions of the BTS Army. Evidently, that passion extends to the digital realm, as evidenced by the meteoric rise of superstar Cristiano Ronaldo’s new YouTube channel.
Ronaldo, who already commands over 100 million followers on X (formerly Twitter), launched an official YouTube channel just yesterday, which rather unsurprisingly exploded. Within 90 minutes—the same official length as one of his matches—the channel had already hit the coveted million-subscriber mark, making YouTube history and earning Ronaldo a gold play button (which he then gave to his kids, like the stand-up guy he is.)
As of time of writing, Ronaldo’s YouTube channel now boasts 24 million subscribers and shows no sign of slowing. While one might expect an athlete’s YouTube channel to be full of, say, greatest hits compilations or game recaps, Ronaldo has been taking a slightly more personal approach, uploading videos no longer than three minutes at a rapid cadence. These range from Q&As to games played with his family, granting a slightly more intimate (if still heavily edited) look into Ronaldo’s inner workings.
Having thoroughly conquered the world of sport, it’s not inconceivable that Ronaldo could be coming for MrBeast‘s crown next. He’s already gone a whole day on YouTube without any controversy, after all, which is a feat in and of itself in this day and age.
It also remains to be seen whether Ronaldo will stick to the family-style content he’s put out so far, or potentially make a turn into gaming. His face is plastered all over EA Sports FC rival UFL, after all, and controlling a tailor-made game character in your likeness is a rare treat few get to experience—and if nothing else, his reaction would likely be fun to watch. Either way, it seems he’s on the platform to stay.
