Soccer player gains worldwide attention — and 5 million Instagram followers — in one week

Tim Payne, left, of the All Whites and Shihao Wei of China compete for the ball during the international soccer friendly between New Zealand and China in Wellington, New Zealand, Sunday, March 26, 2023. (Masanori Udagawa/Photosport via AP,File)

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.

Payne’s follower count on Instagram ballooned from 4,000 last week to nearly 4.9 million after Argentinian influencer Valen Scarsini, known as “El Scarso”, called for his fans to boost the unheralded All Whites defender’s following.

The two met for the first time at New Zealand’s training camp in Florida on Wednesday, with Payne thanking El Scarso for his support and gifting him with a signed playing top.

“It’s obviously good for myself and New Zealand football too,” Payne said.

“It puts a light on us which is a positive thing but at the same time, for me, I don’t change.

“I’m still the person I am, so I just keep trying to do what I do which is play football and focus on trying to perform for my country.”

Payne’s Instagram account now has more followers than any other New Zealand sporting account, other than UFC star Israel Adesanya’s 8.2 million following.

He has surpassed cricketer Kane Williamson on 3.3 million and the All Blacks rugby team on 2.8 million.

On the field things are going less well for the New Zealand team, who suffered a heavy 4-0 defeat to Haiti in a World Cup warm-up on Wednesday.

They play England on Sunday in their final friendly before the World Cup begins.

New Zealand plays Iran, Egypt and Belgium in their World Cup pool.