Instagram Post With Most Likes: Current Record, Top Posts and What Made It Viral

If you're searching for the Instagram post with most likes, the current all-time record belongs to Lionel Messi's post celebrating Argentina's 2022 FIFA World Cup victory.

The post was published on 18 December 2022 and has accumulated roughly 74–75 million likes in current 2026 public rankings. Because Instagram like counts can continue changing, exact totals may vary depending on when they are checked.

What Is the Instagram Post With the Most Likes?

The record-holder is Lionel Messi's World Cup celebration post showing him and his teammates celebrating Argentina's victory.

It was posted after Argentina defeated France in the 2022 FIFA World Cup final and quickly became one of the most widely engaged posts in social-media history. Current 2026 rankings continue to place it at number one, ahead of the famous World Record Egg post.

The record is particularly notable because it combined:

• A globally significant sporting moment
• A huge international audience
• A highly followed creator
• Strong emotional content
• Immediate worldwide attention

How Many Likes Does the Record Instagram Post Have?

Publicly available 2026 rankings put the post at approximately 75 million likes.

One current database lists the post at about 74.6 million, while other April–July 2026 sources place it around 75 million or slightly higher. Exact numbers are not fixed because likes can continue accumulating and different tracking sources update at different times.

For SEO content, it is safer to describe the total as approximately 75 million likes rather than treating a rapidly changing public count as permanent.

When Was the Most Liked Instagram Post Published?

The record-setting post was published on 18 December 2022, following Argentina's World Cup victory.

It became a global viral event almost immediately and ultimately surpassed the previous record-holder, the World Record Egg.

What Was the Previous Most-Liked Instagram Post?

Before Messi's World Cup celebration post took the top position, the record was held by the famous World Record Egg image.

The egg was posted in January 2019 as a deliberate attempt to break Instagram's like record. Current 2026 rankings place it second, with approximately 60–61 million likes.

The contrast between the two posts is fascinating:

Messi: a historic global sporting celebration.

World Record Egg: a deliberately simple viral experiment.

Both demonstrate that extraordinary Instagram engagement can come from very different types of content.

Top Instagram Posts With the Most Likes

Current public rankings show that the top positions are dominated by major sporting moments, celebrity posts and highly viral content.

Exact rankings below the top few positions can change significantly because likes continue accumulating and public tracking databases update at different times.

Why Does the Messi Post Have So Many Likes?

The post benefited from several extraordinary circumstances.

A Global Sporting Moment

The FIFA World Cup is watched by audiences around the world.

Argentina's victory created a moment that millions of people were emotionally invested in.

Massive Existing Audience

Messi already had an enormous Instagram following before the post was published.

This gave the content immediate exposure.

Emotional Story

The post represented a major career milestone and a memorable sporting achievement.

Emotional events are particularly well suited to social-media sharing and interaction.

Strong Visual Storytelling

The image communicates the achievement immediately without requiring a long explanation.

Timing

The post was published immediately after one of the most important sporting moments of the year.

The combination of event + timing + audience created exceptional conditions for viral engagement.

Why Did the World Record Egg Go Viral?

The World Record Egg took a completely different approach.

The post was intentionally simple: a photo of a brown egg.

Its objective was to encourage Instagram users to collectively break the previous like record. Current rankings still place the image second, several years after its original viral campaign.

Its success demonstrates an important social-media principle:

A simple idea can become extraordinarily powerful when millions of people understand the goal and want to participate.

Can an Ordinary Instagram Account Reach Millions of Likes?

It is possible for an ordinary account to go viral, but reaching tens of millions of likes is exceptionally rare.

The most-liked posts benefit from unusual combinations of:

• Large audiences
• Global events
• Celebrity reach
• Strong emotional reactions
• Shareability
• Timing
• Media coverage
• Platform distribution

Most accounts should therefore focus on relevant engagement and sustainable audience growth rather than attempting to reproduce a world record.

What Can You Learn From the Most-Liked Instagram Posts?

1. Give People a Reason to Care

The world's most-liked posts aren't necessarily technically perfect.

They often represent something people care deeply about.

2. Use Strong Emotional Stories

Celebration, achievement, humour, surprise and cultural moments can create powerful reactions.

3. Timing Matters

A post connected to a major event can benefit from enormous existing attention.

4. Make the Message Easy to Understand

People should immediately understand what they are looking at.

5. Build an Audience Before the Big Moment

A large, relevant audience creates a much stronger starting point for future viral content.

Most-Liked Instagram Post vs Most-Viewed Reel

These are different records.

A like is an engagement action.

A view is a content-consumption metric.

A Reel can receive enormous numbers of views without having the highest number of likes, while a photo can receive extraordinary likes without generating the same number of video views.

Don't assume that the most-viewed Instagram content is also the most-liked content.

Do Likes Still Matter on Instagram?

Likes are still useful as an engagement indicator, but they are not the only measurement worth tracking.

Also consider:

• Comments
• Shares
• Saves
• Reach
• Profile visits
• Follows
• Video views
• Website clicks
• Leads
• Sales

For businesses, a post with a smaller number of likes but substantial website traffic can be more valuable than a record-breaking engagement number.

How to Get More Likes on Your Instagram Posts

You probably won't reach 75 million likes, but you can improve your own results.

Create Relevant Content

Know exactly who you're creating for.

Use Strong Visuals

Clear images and videos can make people more likely to stop scrolling.

Write Useful Captions

Give viewers context or a reason to respond.

Create Reels

Short-form video can give your account additional opportunities for discovery.

Use Relevant Hashtags

Choose hashtags related to the actual subject of your content.

Share to Stories

Use Stories to bring your existing audience to your latest post.

Collaborate With Relevant Creators

Reach audiences that genuinely match your niche.

Publish Consistently

A reliable content schedule creates more opportunities for discovery.

How to Make a Viral Instagram Post

There is no guaranteed formula for virality.

However, a useful framework is:

Audience + Topic + Emotion + Timing + Shareability

Ask:

Who cares about this?

Why would they share it?

Why is this interesting now?

What emotion does it create?

Can someone understand it immediately?

These questions can be more useful than simply copying the visual style of a viral celebrity post.

Common Mistakes When Chasing Likes

Avoid:

• Copying viral posts exactly
• Using unrelated hashtags
• Buying fake engagement
• Posting purely for numbers
• Ignoring your niche
• Using misleading clickbait
• Focusing only on likes

A large number of irrelevant likes doesn't necessarily create a useful audience.

Can You Buy Likes to Make a Post Viral?

Some third-party services advertise Instagram likes, but purchased engagement does not guarantee genuine reach, followers or sales.

Artificial engagement can also make your analytics less useful and may create platform-policy concerns.

If you use a social-media marketing service, carefully review:

• Service details
• Pricing
• Delivery information
• Refund conditions
• Privacy
• Security requirements

Never share your Instagram password, email password, authentication codes or backup codes with an unfamiliar provider.

Explore Instagram Marketing Services

If you're comparing Instagram likes, followers, views and other social-media marketing services, you can explore:

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Review the current services, pricing, requirements and terms before placing an order.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Instagram post with the most likes?

As of 2026, Lionel Messi's December 18, 2022 World Cup celebration post is the most-liked Instagram post, with approximately 74–75 million likes in current public rankings.

How many likes does the most-liked Instagram post have?

The exact public count changes, but current 2026 sources put it at approximately 75 million likes.

What was the previous most-liked Instagram post?

The previous record-holder was the World Record Egg, which currently has roughly 60–61 million likes in public rankings.

When was the most-liked Instagram post published?

Messi's record-setting post was published on 18 December 2022, following Argentina's FIFA World Cup victory.

Can I get millions of likes on Instagram?

There is no reliable way to guarantee millions of likes. Viral engagement depends on audience, content, timing, relevance and circumstances that can be difficult to reproduce.

What is more important than likes?

For most creators and businesses, reach, shares, saves, comments, followers, website traffic and conversions provide a more complete measure of Instagram performance.

Final Thoughts

The Instagram post with most likes remains Lionel Messi's celebration of Argentina's 2022 FIFA World Cup victory, with approximately 75 million likes in current 2026 public rankings.

The record is a useful reminder that the biggest Instagram successes usually combine a strong story, massive audience interest, emotional impact, timing and easy-to-understand content.

For your own account, focus less on breaking a global record and more on creating posts that the right audience genuinely wants to like, save, share and remember.

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