Red Card 2020: Cristiano Ronaldo, the most popular player online in China, ahead of Neymar and Messi

Portuguese international forward Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus FC, Serie A TIM) is the most popular football player on social media in China, according to the "Red Card 2020" report from Mailman Group, a Chinese agency that analyses and manages the digital presence of brands on the internet, published on 17/01/2020.

In the 2020 ranking of the most popular player online in China, Cristiano Ronaldo is ahead of Neymar da Silva Santos Junior (Paris Saint-Germain, Ligue 1 Conforama) and Lionel Messi (FC Barcelona, LaLiga Santander), as in 2019. Total engagement on official player accounts on the social networks analysed for the study decreased by 15% in 2019 compared to 2018, and growth in the number of followers slowed by 27%.

"Cristiano Ronaldo continued to dominate, retaining the top spot as the number one footballer online in China. Ronaldo led all digital performance metrics, ending the year as most followed international player on Weibo. He was also one of the few players to see both his Weibo engagement and follower growth increase from the previous year," states the Red Card 2020…