Cristiano Ronaldo, the most followed person on social media (917 million followers across various platforms and counting) and considered by many to be one of the greatest soccer players of all time, is launching his own YouTube channel.
The channel — called “UR” and launching Wednesday — will see the 39-year-old, who currently captains both Al Nassr in Saudi Arabia and the Portuguese national side, discuss his “greatest passion” (soccer), according to the news announcement, as well as “his other interests, including family, wellness, nutrition, preparation, recovery, education, and business.” It will also see Ronaldo chat with various guests.
“I am very happy to make this project come to life,” said Ronaldo. “It has been in my mind for a long time but finally we have the opportunity to make it real. I have always enjoyed having such a strong relationship with fans on social media and my YouTube channel will give me an even bigger platform to do so and they will learn more about me, my family, and my views on many different subjects. I am also looking forward to sharing conversations with guests that will no doubt surprise people!”
Across a glittering career spanning more than two decades spent at clubs including Manchester United, Real Madrid and Juventus, Ronaldo has won 33 trophies, five UEFA Champions Leagues, five Ballon d’Or awards and a record three UEFA Men’s Player of the Year Awards. He currently holds the record for most appearances, goals and assists in both the Champions League and European Championship, plus the most international goals and international appearances. He has scored more than 890 official senior career goals for both club and country, making him the top goalscorer of all time.
But Ronaldo is not — as yet — the most followed person on YouTube. That honour goes to MrBeast, who has 311 million subscribers.
However, it might not be too long before he reaches that figure. Just 1 hour 29 minutes after launching, his new YouTube channel had topped 1 million subscribers, become the fastest in history to hit that milestone and giving Ronaldo another record to add to his growing list. Two days after the launch, and breaking another record, UR had more than 30 million subscribers, with one video having already surpassed 10 million views. One enterprising YouTuber has already started a video featuring live updates of both Ronaldo and MrBeast’s sub counts.
See Ronaldo’s first YouTube video on his channel below