Messi overtakes Cristiano Ronaldo in China

The two players are constantly compared with each other. With a common goal of playing at the highest level possible, Messi and Ronaldo have made waves in the footballing world. It appears, however, that Messi's waves have been felt the most in China. 

The study focused on the social network Weibo, a sort of Twitter-Facebook hybrid that is used widely in China. According to the results published in a report called 'Red Card 2018,' Messi's reach was 13 times more than that of any other footballer. 

Even though it was the Portuguese striker who previously dominated on the site, the rise in supporters of the Barca star has seen engagement with Messi-related posts stretch 45% further than Ronaldo-based ones. 

Researchers have put the results down to a promotional visit that Messi made to Chine last May, which vastly boosted his fanbase there. Furthermore, the Argentine has been a global ambassador of the Chinese phone brand Huawei since 2016. 

It appears as if the trend will carry on, in fact, the country is planning on opening the Messi Experience Park, a theme park dedicated to the Argentine, which will open it's doors in Nanjing in 2020.