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BBC News July 8, 2026

World Cup Players Become Influencers Overnight

Meet Vzina, a 40-year-old goalkeeper from Cape Verde. He became famous in 40 minutes after playing well against Spain in the World Cup. Now he has 27 million followers on Instagram. Another player, Tim Payne, went from 5,000 followers to 6 million in just a few days. This is very fast and big. It's not new for athletes to be famous, but now you don't have to be the best to be a big star on the internet. You need to have special moments and use social media to get many followers. Many followers can give you a lot of money. For example, influencers with many followers can ask for up to six figures for payments. But will this fame last after the World Cup? We will see.

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