Cristiano Ronaldo, Twitter’s most-followed athlete, LOSES his blue tick on the platform as new subscription rules are enforced… despite Elon Musk spending $8 a month to verify LeBron James
- Cristiano Ronaldo has lost the blue tick from his official Twitter account
- The Portuguese star is the platform’s most followed athlete with 108 million fans
- But he didn’t pay the monthly subscription to keep the verified tick
Cristiano Ronaldo has lost his blue tick on Twitter despite being the platform’s most followed athlete.
The Portuguese superstar has 108.3million followers on Elon Musk’s social media page, but the footballer no longer has the ‘Legacy verified tick’ that used to be used to confirm the validity of official accounts.
Twitter has introduced new rules that have seen a number of accounts lose their blue tick, regardless of fame, and Ronaldo is one of those who are no longer verified despite being the most followed footballer on the platform .
Users can pay an $8 (£6.46) monthly subscription to sign up for Twitter Blue, which comes with the blue tick along with access to other features like longer video uploads and an edit button.
But many have taken offense at Musk’s money-making tactics, opting not to contribute to the billionaire’s coffers after he acquired Twitter for $44 billion (£38.1 billion) in October 2022.
Cristiano Ronaldo, Twitter’s most followed athlete, is no longer verified by the platform
The superstar’s blue tick was removed after he chose not to sign up for Twitter Blue
Twitter owner Elon Musk paid the $8 monthly fee to verify LeBron James on the site
Musk stated that he himself paid $8 to retain basketball superstar LeBron James’ verified blue tick. and author Stephen King and actor William Shatner.
James previously stated that he had no intention of paying the subscription to keep his blue tick and Musk would have to explain the situation to confused users.
But it seems the 51-year-old’s generosity didn’t extend to the most followed athlete on Twitter, Ronaldo.
Ronaldo’s popularity has remained high after stints at top clubs Manchester United, Real Madrid and Juventus.
The 38-year-old currently plays his club football in Saudi Arabia’s top flight at Al-Nassr, where he earns £173million a year, so the cost of the monthly subscription isn’t an issue.
Verified ticks have been used on Twitter since 2009 after St. Louis Cardinals manager Anthony La Russa sued the site for a fraud account.
Ronaldo’s popularity has remained high following stints at top clubs like Man United
Gary Lineker keeps his blue tick on Twitter to give him access to the site’s edit button
The removal of the blue ticks has raised concerns that impersonation attempts will increase, and it will also spark an increasing wave of misinformation.
BBC football presenter Gary Lineker has kept the blue tick because he’s been paying for it for a whilewho explained in early April that he only paid for the monthly subscription to maintain access to Twitter’s elusive “edit” button.
The Manchester City duo Aymeric Laporte and Riyad Mahrez tweeted Thursday that they had no plans to pay the fee – and their ticks are now missing.
US Olympic champion Lolo Jones said that while she’s no longer verified on Twitter, She’s on her dating profile.