Cristiano Ronaldo, the Portuguese footballer, is celebrating 1 billion followers across all his social media platforms.

In an Instagram post on Thursday, the 39-year-old Al-Nassr forward thanked his supporters for believing in him through “all the highs and the lows”.

Ronaldo also reflected on his journey from a young boy in Madeira to becoming “one of the greatest players of all time”.

“We have made history — 1 BILLION followers! This is more than just a number,” he wrote.

“From the streets of Madeira to the biggest stages in the world, I’ve always played for my family and for you, and now 1 billion of us stand together.

“You’ve been with me every step of the way. This journey is our journey, and together, we’ve shown that there are no limits to what we can achieve.

“Thank you for believing in me, for your support, and for being part of my life. The best is yet to come, and we’ll keep pushing, winning, and making history together.”

With this new feat, Ronaldo is the most-followed person on social media — including Instagram (638 million), X (113 million), Facebook (170+ million), and YouTube (60+ million).

On August 21, Ronaldo launched his YouTube channel. The footballer also set a new Guinness World Record (GWR) for the most YouTube subscribers gained in 24 hours.

The former Manchester United and Real Madrid player has won five Ballon d’Or awards, three UEFA Men’s Player of the Year Awards, and four European Golden Shoes, the most by any European player.

The Portuguese international has also scored 895 senior career goals and is the leading all-time goal-scorer in the world.

Technical Director of the Nigeria Football Federation, Austin Eguavoen, has denied stepping down as the interim coach of the Super Eagles after the two 2025 AFCON qualifiers against the Benin Republic and Rwanda.

Eguavoen was appointed by the NFF to take charge of the two games following the inability of the federation to secure the services of German coach, Bruno Labbadia, over what they call stringent German tax laws.

“In the event, Technical Director of Nigeria Football Federation, Coach Augustine Eguavoen, will now take charge of the Super Eagles for the upcoming 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying matches against Benin Republic (Uyo, September 7) and Rwanda (Kigali, September 10),” the statement announcing his appointment had partly read.

The 59-year-old led Nigeria to a convincing 3-0 win over the Benin Republic in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, last Saturday before being held to a goaless draw in the second game of the series by Rwanda on Tuesday.

After Tuesday’s goaless draw in Kigali, Eguavoen was said to have stepped down as interim coach but the gaffer has denied the reports ahead of next month’s AFCON qualifiers double header against Libya.

“It’s quite unfortunate that people just trigger something that is not correct. And the situation we are in now, we don’t need negative stories,” Eguavoen said on arrival at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja in a media chat.

“I only talked about sitting down with the hierarchy of the federation after these two games and we will see how to go about prosecuting the next games.

“But when I saw that story I was worried. Whatever people are reading out there aren’t correct. I’m still very much in charge. I’m the Technical Director of the NFF, saddled with the responsibility of taking the Super Eagles at this moment,” he said.

Dickson Ndiema, the man accused of fatally burning Rebecca Cheptegei, the Ugandan athlete, is dead.

According to local authorities, Ndiema, an ex-boyfriend of Cheptegei, died on Monday from burns sustained during the attack on his former partner.

The ex-boyfriend was accused of dousing Cheptegei in petrol and setting her ablaze while she was returning to her house from church in western Trans Nzoia County, Nairobi, on September 1.

The 33-year-old athlete suffered burns on 80 percent of her body and was being treated at the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital in Eldoret City, where she died on September 5.

Ndiema also suffered burns from the attack and was also admitted to the hospital for treatment. His injuries were initially considered less critical.

Reports filed by the local chief had said the two ex-lovers had been fighting over a piece of land.

Cheptegei, who lived in Kenya, represented Uganda at the 2024 Paris Olympics and finished 44th in the women’s marathon event.

She is the third elite sportswoman to be killed in Kenya in the last three years.

In 2021, Agnes Tirop was found stabbed to death at her home in Iten. The husband of the 25-year-old was also named the suspect in the murder.

In 2022, Damaris Mutua, another Kenyan-born athlete, was found dead in a house in Iten, and her then-boyfriend was also identified as a suspect.