Fact-Check: Did Messi's Arrival Double PSG's Instagram Followers? Not Really

PSG Instagram Followers: Since Lionel Messi's arrival, the number of followers increased by 6-7 million in three days and not the 20 million that is being claimed by some football pages.

Image: Instagram/@PSG | AFP

Since the time Lionel Messi joined Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), there has been a buzz about an increase in the Paris-based club's social media following. Some social media platforms claimed that PSG's following on Instagram had doubled after Leo Messi's arrival at the club.

Even though a part of the news is true and PSG did gain millions of new followers, but to say that the following has doubled is nothing, but a plain exaggeration. A Twitter account claimed that PSG's Instagram followers more than doubled after Messi's arrival. An account named @FootballFunny's wrote: "20.2m followers in 24 hours. Leo Messi is bigger than the club" 

PSG followers before and after signing Messi.

20.2m followers in 24 hours. Leo Messi is bigger than the club. 😀 pic.twitter.com/u0DLlR0X4c

— FootballFunnys (@FootballFunnnys) August 11, 2021

Several other football pages on Instagram and Twitter posted this information about PSG gaining close to 20m followers in a day. 

What Are The Facts? 

Although some Lionel Messi fans would wish that the news be true, it is to be noted that it is not. PSG's Instagram followers were close to 39 million a day before Messi was announced by PSG, i.e on 9 August 2021. At the time of writing this article, the number of followers have increased to 45.8 million. Thus, since Messi's arrival, the number of followers increased by 6-7 million and not the 20 million that is being claimed by some football pages.

 

PSG's followers as of 13 August 2021, 11 am IST. 

Newsweek reported that PSG's following increased by 3.07 million followers on 10 August, the day when Messi was announced by PSG.