Instagram.com/Cristiano

Cristiano Ronaldo races to 4m likes in two hours with latest Instagram photo as he poses poolside in just his underwear in the Saudi sun

Cristiano Ronaldo may no longer be involved at the business end of the European football season but his social media appeal appears as strong as ever.

Striker poses poolside
Post rockets to four million likes
Social media appeal as strong as ever

WHAT HAPPENED? The five-time Ballon d'Or winner posted a picture of himself soaking up the Saudi sunshine in just a pair of his sponsor's underwear on Saturday morning. The poolside snap raced to over four million likes in almost no time at all. Even at the latter end of a glittering playing career, Ronaldo's social media game remains remarkable.

IN A PHOTO:

THE BIGGER PICTURE: With a following of 584 million on Instagram and 108 million on Twitter the Portuguese star continues to have unprecedented pulling power, even in light of a brief setback when his blue tick was briefly taken off him as part of Elon Musk's legacy purge.

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WHAT NEXT FOR RONALDO? Having soaked up some sunshine, Ronaldo will be getting his kit back on when his Al-Nassr side resume their title pursuit against third-placed Al-Shabab on Tuesday.