Soccer Player Gains Worldwide Attention — and 5 Million Instagram Followers — in One Week
The New Zealand defender’s Instagram following jumped from about 4,700 to more than 1 million after fans joined the viral push.
- New Zealand defender Tim Payne met Argentine influencer Valen Scarsini, who orchestrated a viral social media campaign that transformed the 32-year-old into an unlikely World Cup superstar.
- Scarsini, who has more than 500,000 followers, identified Payne as the least-known player at the FIFA World Cup and urged his base to make him a "hero" before the tournament.
- Payne's Instagram following surged from around 4,700 earlier this week to more than a million by Friday, now six times greater than New Zealand captain Nottingham Forest forward Chris Wood.
- During their meeting, Payne gifted Scarsini a signed All Whites jersey and expressed gratitude, telling him, "It's been a pretty crazy 48 hours to say the least."
- Despite the sudden fame, Payne remains focused on football, noting the exposure benefits New Zealand as the team prepares for their June 15 tournament opener against Iran.
16 Articles
16 Articles
Soccer player gains worldwide attention — and 5 million Instagram followers — in one week
New Zealand footballer Tim Payne became his country’s second most popular sporting account on Instagram on Thursday as he gifted the influencer who boosted his popularity with a playing shirt.
The moment that thousands of fans from all over the world were waiting for finally arrived on Wednesday: Tim Payne, the first big star of the 2026 World Cup, met Argentine content creator Valen Scarsini in person, responsible for his notoriety.Let's remember that Valen was the one who put Payne on the road, making a video last week in which he asked to “make famous the least known player of the World Cup”.By that time, the New Zealand footballer…
All White Tim Payne meets El Scarso, the man who made him Instagram famous
Tim Payne has met El Scarso, the Argentine content creator who encouraged people to get behind him as the “least-known” player at this year’s FIFA World Cup – to the tune of 4.8 million new Instagram followers.
The content creator traveled to the United States to meet the New Zealand footballer, until recently "the least known in the world".Payne became popular thanks to a Scarsini post, who called to follow him on the networks.
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