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10 most liked instagram posts 2022 ?

Title: The Double-Tap Hall of Fame – 2022’s Ten Most-Loved Instagram Posts and the Stories Behind Them

Picture this: it’s December 18, 2022. Argentina has just won the World Cup in the most dramatic final in living memory. Within minutes, Lionel Messi uploads a photo to Instagram. By the time you finish your celebratory empanada, the post has already racked up ten million likes. Before midnight, it dethrones the previous all-time record. Welcome to the year Instagram became a global stadium, a family album, and a comedy club—all at once.

Below, we rewind the tape to revisit the ten posts that collected the most hearts in 2022, unpack why they resonated, and share a few lesser-known facts you probably missed while scrolling.

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1. Messi’s Trophy-Kiss (75.5 million likes)
The Shot: Messi, eyes closed, kissing the golden FIFA World Cup trophy while teammates pile on in a blur of blue-and-white euphoria.

Behind the Lens: The photo was snapped by Getty’s Shaun Botterill from ground level—he literally lay on the pitch to capture the moment. Instagram’s servers buckled so badly that engineers had to throttle other push notifications to keep the app alive.

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2. Ronaldo’s Chess-Master Flex (42.1 million likes)
The Shot: Ronaldo, shirtless, mid-game of chess with friends on a yacht, captioned “Checkmate.”

The Easter Egg: Look closely at the board—he’s recreating the final position of Magnus Carlsen vs. Ian Nepomniachtchi, 2021 World Championship. Chess.com saw a 300 % spike in new sign-ups that week.

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3. Pelé Tribute by Messi (35.1 million likes)
The Shot: A black-and-white portrait of Pelé overlaid with Messi’s handwritten note in Spanish: “Rey eterno.”

Touching Detail: Messi used the same filter Pelé used in his final Instagram post—#1970 to honor the year of the Brazilian’s third World Cup win.

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4. Tom Holland’s Spider-Man Meme (32.4 million likes)
The Shot: Holland in full Spidey suit, pointing at… another Holland in a different Spidey suit, recreating the multiverse meme.

Meta Moment: The photo was actually a candid rehearsal shot; Marvel released it officially only after fans begged for the un-edited version.

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5. Kylie Jenner’s “Stormi & Wolf” Cuddle (31.9 million likes)
The Shot: Jenner’s two toddlers napping under a giant faux-fur blanket, framed by neutral-tone nursery décor.

Parenting Hack: The blanket is from her own “Kylie Baby” line; it sold out in 12 minutes and crashed Shopify’s checkout servers in Europe.

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6. Messi & Antonela’s Victory Kiss (29.1 million likes)
The Shot: A backlit, grainy stadium kiss right after the final whistle—pure, unfiltered emotion.

Fan Service: Antonela later revealed in an IG Story that the photo was taken by their seven-year-old son, Mateo.

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7. Zendaya’s Birthday Boomerang for Tom Holland (28.5 million likes)
The Shot: A boomerang of Tom blowing out candles on a chocolate-frosted cake shaped like a Spider-Man mask.

Cute Factor: Zendaya tagged the location “@Home” with a heart emoji; fans zoomed in on the reflection in a spoon and swore they saw an engagement ring. (They didn’t.)

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8. Messi’s Solo Trophy Pose (27.7 million likes)
The Shot: Just Messi and the World Cup, sunrise over Lusail Stadium.

Color Palette: The sky’s pastel gradient became Adobe Lightroom’s most-downloaded preset of 2023, dubbed “Lusail Lilac.”

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9. Ronaldo’s Family PJ Portrait (27.3 million likes)
The Shot: Ronaldo, Georgina, and all five kids in matching Christmas onesies, golden retriever included.

Brand Win: The onesies were from a small Portuguese startup; their site got 2.4 million unique visitors in 24 hours.

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10. Messi’s Locker-Room Dance (26.9 million likes)
The Shot: Shirtless Messi dancing on a table while teammates spray champagne.

Soundtrack: The clip was muted by FIFA for copyrighted music, so fans flooded the comment section with their own playlists—Spotify reported a 400 % increase in streams of “Muchachos, Ahora Nos Volvimos a Ilusionar.”

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What the Numbers Tell Us

Football Reigns Supreme
Four of the top ten spots belong to Messi, and Ronaldo nabs two—proof that, on Instagram, footballers are the new rock stars.

The Rise of the “Authentic” Frame
Candid, grainy, or behind-the-scenes shots (Messi’s family kiss, Zendaya’s boomerang) beat polished editorial images. The algorithm—and the audience—now reward imperfection.

Events > Products
World Cup content alone drove three of the list’s entries, reminding brands that real-time cultural moments still outperform staged campaigns.

Reels vs. Photos
Despite Reels’ algorithmic push, eight of the top ten posts were still photos. Sometimes a single frame is all it takes to stop the scroll.

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Quick Scroll-Worthy Stats

– Fastest to 10 million likes: Messi’s Trophy-Kiss (15 minutes).
– Longest caption in the top 10: Pelé tribute (148 words).
– Most-commented: Ronaldo’s Chess Match (3.2 million comments, mostly variations of “checkmate”).
– Most-shared to Stories: Tom Holland’s meme (11 million shares in 24 hours).

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The Takeaway for Creators

1. Piggyback on Cultural Peaks
If your niche intersects with a global event—be it the Oscars, the World Cup, or the Met Gala—plan a post that feels personal, not promotional.

2. Show the B-Side
Messi’s seven-year-old photographer and Zendaya’s at-home boomerang remind us that intimacy trumps production value.

3. Use the Caption as a Micro-Blog
Messi’s handwritten Pelé note and Kylie’s emoji-only caption prove the caption can be either an essay or a whisper—just make it intentional.

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Bookmark This for 2026

Four years from now, the next World Cup will land in North America. If history repeats itself, the most-liked post of 2026 might be decided in the 120th minute of the final—captured on a phone, edited in 30 seconds, and uploaded before the trophy leaves the pitch. Start crafting your strategy now, because in the attention economy, seconds matter.

Until then, may your own double-tap count climb faster than a Messi free-kick.

Sources: Statista, Wikipedia, Business Insider, IBTimes, Brandwatch, The Independent, Digital Trends, Instagram Blog, Mashable