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Insta loss of millions for Kohli, Messi, Ronaldo
Updated On: 09 May, 2026 09:18 AM IST | Mumbai | Agencies
The reason behind this seismic loss of followers is the deletion of bot accounts

Cristiano Ronaldo. Pic/Ronaldo’s Instagram, Lionel Messi. Pic/Messi’s Instagram and Virat Kohli. Pic/Virat’s Instagram
India cricket superstar Virat Kohli, along with football greats Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi have lost millions of followers on Instagram, following the social media app’s recent update. The reason behind this seismic loss of followers is the deletion of bot accounts.
Kohli has lost two million followers, bringing his count down from 275 to 273 million, while the two football icons have suffered bigger hits to their follower count — Ronaldo has lost nine million followers, to bring his tally down to 664 million, while Messi has lost seven million followers, bringing down his count to 505 million.
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