How Erling Haaland And Vozinha Were Among World Cup’s Winners—Even With No Trophy

Some of World Cup's biggest winners never made it to the final stages of the tournament but still emerged with careers transformed as tens of millions of new followers flocked to their social media accounts in a matter of weeks and essentially turned a handful of lesser-known soccer stars into global celebrities overnight.

Vozinha, Cabo Verde’s 40-year-old goalkeeper, went from 50,000 Instagram followers to 1 million within 24 hours of his team’s stunning 0-0 tie against Spain in June and, by Wednesday, had topped 29.3 million.

He said in an Instagram video posted this week he never imagined his unforgettable underdog performance for Cabo Verde, the third-smallest nation by population to ever qualify for the World Cup, would make him a viral star but called it “very gratifying” and promised “more coming soon.”

Norwegian striker Erling Haaland was far from unknown before this year’s tournament—he already had about 40 million Instagram followers coming into the World Cup, but his goofy demeanor in social media posts and interviews, crucial goals and Norway's surprisingly deep run gained him another 24 million.

New Zealand defender Tim Payne had fewer than 5,000 Instagram followers before the tournament but a mission by influencer Valen Scarsini to find the World Cup’s "least-known footballer” skyrocketed his following to 5.6 million—more than the entire population of New Zealand—while he also landed a contract with top Paraguay team Club Olimpia.

Eloy Room, goalkeeper for Curaçao, skyrocketed in popularity after making a record-tying 15 saves in a match against Ecuador and went from 90,000 to 1.1 million.

Teenage sensation Gilberto Mora, 17, of Mexico was already considered a prodigy in his country and counted about 1 million Instagram followers, but his fearless play at the tournament—and comparisons to soccer legends like Pelé—made him a global phenomenon who now has 7.3 million followers.

A large-scale campaign championed by CazéTV and social media influencers from Brazil made defender Douglas Santos' Instagram following skyrocket nearly 1,200%—from about 190,000 before the World Cup to 2.6 million.

Established global stars like Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo (already the most-followed celebrity on Instagram), Brazil’s Neymar, England’s Jude Bellingham, Argentina’s Lionel Messi and France’s Kylian Mbappé have gained another 10 million, 6.5 million, 6 million, 5.8 million and 4 million Instagram followers, respectively, since the start of the World Cup.

Social media followings have become a major indicator of an athlete’s commercial value—and financial potential. Companies are eager to gain access to the millions of potential customers online whom athletes are able to access through their followings, and huge audiences can lead to sponsorships, higher appearance fees, memorabilia sales and other business opportunities that translate to off-field earnings for athletes. The highest-profile athletes—including billionaires Ronaldo and Messi—use their social media accounts to build businesses beyond endorsements, like personal brands, clothing lines, fitness products, media projects and other investments. Ronaldo’s social media presence is estimated to have generated $176 million in media value for his sponsors in the last year, with $36 million of that for Nike alone.

When a social media star posts about a product—even indirectly—their followers flock. Google search volume skyrocketed more than 5,000% earlier this week for the term “taxidermied raccoon” after Haaland was seen disembarking a plane in Oslo, Norway, on Monday with his bizarre World Cup souvenir. The player spent $750 on the raccoon, which is holding an empty bottle of gin, at Wild Bill’s Western Store in Dallas. The product has since sold out, and the store promises more inventory is on the way.

Ronaldo is world’s top-earning athlete from any sport, with an estimated net worth of $1.2 billion. He's estimated to have earned $300 million in income in the last 12 months. Messi, also a billionaire, has a net worth of $1.1 billion, Forbes estimates. Other top-earning players at this year's World Cup include Mbappé, Haaland, Vinicius Jr. of Brazil and Mohamed Salah of Egypt.