Cristiano Ronaldo pips Lionel Messi as most popular athlete in the world; Virat Kohli, Mahendra Singh Dhoni in top 20
While Ronaldo tops the list, it also features 11 Indians with Virat Kohli in 11th position followed by Mahendra Singh Dhoni in 20th place.
Is Cristiano Ronaldo more popular than Lionel Messi?
According to a list released by ESPN.com on Tuesday, called ESPN World Fame 100, he is.
File image of Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo and Barcelona's Lionel Messi. Reuters
The Portuguese footballer is on top of the standings in the list for 2018, while the Argentinian magician is third, separated by Cleveland Cavaliers superstar LeBron James. Neymar, Roger Federer, Tiger Woods, Kevin Durant, Rafael Nadal, Stephen Curry and Phil Mickelson are also among the top 10 most famous athletes.
The list also features 11 Indians with Virat Kohli in 11th position followed by Mahendra Singh Dhoni in 20th place. Rohit Sharma (30th), Suresh Raina (41st), Saina Nehwal (50th), Yuvraj Singh (57th), Ravichandran Ashwin (71st), Harbhajan Singh (80th), Gautam Gambhir (83rd), Shikhar Dhawan (94th) and Sania Mirza (100th) are the others in the list.
Serena Williams is the highest ranked female athlete on the list which comprises of only 12 women. The 23-time Grand Slam champion is 12th on the list ahead of rival Maria Sharapova who is ranked 21st.
Interestingly, there are 10 cricketers on the list — nine from India apart from AB de Villiers — while no baseball or ice hockey players made the cut.
India skipper Kohli, who was also named in Time magazine's 100 most influential people in the world earlier, finds himself ahead of tennis aces Serena Williams (12) and Novak Djokovic (13), while Dhoni has pipped the likes of before Maria Sharapova (21) and Zlatan Ibrahimovic (25). Royal Challengers Bangalore skipper Kohli had a search score of 88, endorsements worth $17.4 million and social following of 36.9 million.
ESPN said they began by considering 600 of the biggest athletes in the world, drawn from 68 countries before their Sports Analytics Group ranked them based on a "proprietary formula" which used three factors: how often the athlete's name is searched, endorsement money and followers on social media.
also read
Virat Kohli: The big numbers from the wait for elusive 28th Test ton
As Virat Kohli ends his Test century drought in Ahmedabad, we take a look at the key numbers from his long wait for the elusive 28th ton.
India vs Australia: Virat Kohli 42 runs away from breaking this record of Dravid, Gavaskar
Kohli will be looking to shrug off his recent string of dismal performances in the Ahmedabad Test and achieve new milestones.
Indian bowlers to train with Duke balls during IPL to prepare for WTC final: Rohit Sharma
The WTC final is played in June, right after the IPL and this year, the final is on 29 May while the WTC final will begin on 7 June at the Oval.