Ronaldo becomes the first athlete to hit 500 million followers on social media

- Cristiano Ronaldo has 500 million followers on social media, making him the athlete with the highest fans

- The Juventus striker has been making waves in the current season and even helped his side qualify into the Coppa Italia final

- Ronaldo is also the highest goalscorer in Serie A with 16 goals from 17 appearances so far

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Cristiano Ronaldo now has the highest number of followers on social media as a sports celebrity on social media.

The recently clocked 36-year-old officially reached 500 million followers more than any other athlete on social media.

The Juventus striker has been in superb form as recently became the world's leading scorer in the history of football.

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CR7 is also leading the pack in Serie A with 16 goals and helped Juve qualify into the finals of the Coppa Italia.

The Bianconeri had a slow start to the new season and are currently seven points behind league leaders AC Milan and five points adrift Inter Milan.

Andrea Pirlo's men defeated Roma in their last league game but would test their resolve against Gennaro Gattuso's Napoli.

The defending champions will then file out in the Portuguese side FC Porto in the Champions League round of 16 game before welcoming Crotone at the Allianz Stadium.

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Meanwhile, Legit.ng had earlier reported that Cristiano Ronaldo is the leading scorer in Serie A with 16 goals and at the age of 36, the Juventus striker does not look like slowing down.

However, CR7's remarkable form this season has been bettered by several players scattered across Europe and three of them play in the English Premier League.

Here are the players with the most goals and assists in the top five leagues in Europe this season with Ronaldo only good for the tenth spot.

Legit.ng had also reported that Meanwhile, Legit.ng had earlier reported that Lionel Messi took his free-kick haul to 55 following Barcelona's 2-1 win over Athletic Bilbao in the past weekend, The Sun.

But despite his impressive number of goals from direct free-kicks, Messi is still behind several players in the list of top ten players who have scored directly from a set-piece.

The Barcelona captain ranks higher than his fiercest rival Cristiano Ronaldo in this department. The 33-year-old is ranked 11th among the best free-kick takers in the world.

Akan Anwankwo is a sports editor with Legit.ng and has 7 years of field and office experience. He graduated from the University of Lagos in 2014 with a Bachelors degree in English and Literature Studies. Akan intends to educate, inform and make readers passionate about sports. Learn more about him on his Twitter handle: @ anwankwo_akan