New research released has revealed the most popular sportsperson in 170 different countries around the world.
The research, compiled by Sports Shoes, uses Google search data to find out which sports stars are searched for the most in different countries, revealing the most popular male and female athletes around the globe.
Top Female Sportspeople Globally
| Ranking | Sportsperson | Sport | Annual Global Searches |
| 1 | Ronda Rousey | MMA | 21,666,500 |
| 2 | Alex Morgan | Football | 8,446,340 |
| 3 | Serena Williams | Tennis | 7,462,710 |
| 4 | Tonya Harding | Figure Skating | 7,254,410 |
| 5 | Paige Vanzant | MMA | 6,330,600 |
| 6 | Smriti Mandhana | Cricket | 5,923,860 |
| 7 | Joanna Jedrzejczyk | MMA | 5,595,360 |
| 8 | Amanda Nunes | MMA | 4,537,240 |
| 9 | Maria Sharapova | Tennis | 4,418,870 |
| 10 | Valentina Schevchenko | MMA | 3,617,710 |
| 11 | Megan Rapinoe | Football | 3,524,190 |
| 12 | Holly Holm | MMA | 3,466,430 |
| 13 | Rose Namjunas | MMA | 3,217,310 |
| 14 | Sue Bird | Basketball | 2,934,770 |
| 15 | Caster Semenya | Middle Distance Running | 2,608,910 |
| 16 | Ellyse Perry | Cricket | 2,530,550 |
| 17 | Mikaela Shiffrin | Skiing | 2,450,630 |
| 18 | Laila Ali | Boxing | 2,240,270 |
| 19 | Sarah Fuller | American football and football | |
| 20 | Miesha Tate | MMA | 2,098,980 |
Top Male Sportspeople Globally
| Ranking | Sportsperson | Sport | Annual Global Searches |
| 1 | Cristiano Ronaldo | Football | 99,207,840 |
| 2 | Lebron James | Basketball | 77,564,570 |
| 3 | Neymar | Football | 76,622,600 |
| 4 | Michael Jordan | Basketball | 75,210,140 |
| 5 | Tom Brady | American Football | 63,573,740 |
| 6 | Conor McGregor | MMA | 62,375,910 |
| 7 | Mike Tyson | Boxing | 51,364,010 |
| 8 | Lionel Messi | Football | 38,967,190 |
| 9 | Virat Kohli | Cricket | 33,133,610 |
| 10 | Tyson Fury | Boxing | 31,323,230 |
| 11 | Ronaldinho | Football | 30,366,410 |
| 12 | Stephen Curry | Basketball | 30,281,390 |
| 13 | Lewis Hamilton | Formula 1 | 26,050,970 |
| 14 | Tiger Woods | Golf | 23,588,140 |
| 15 | Peleì | Football | 23,486,730 |
| 16 | Khabib Nurmagomedov | MMA | 21,874,320 |
| 17 | Floyd Mayweather | Boxing | 20,488,400 |
| 18 | Dennis Rodman | Basketball | 20,482,780 |
| 19 | Giannis Antetokounmpo | Basketball | 20,448,480 |
| 20 | Kevin Durant | Basketball | 20,395,370 |
The World’s Favourite Sports Stars
Renowned footballer Cristiano Ronaldo and UFC superstar Ronda Rousey topped the lists of the world’s favourite male and female sportspeople respectively.
Despite the ongoing debate of whether it’s Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi who is the best footballer of this generation, this research reveals that it is in fact Ronaldo who has captured the most hearts around the world.
The 36-year-old Portuguese footballer has won the Ballon d’Or a whopping five times, with only Messi having won it more times in the award’s lifespan.
Ronaldo is also the top goal scorer of all time for his country, having scored 102 goals for the Portuguese international team.
Admired all around the world, the data revealed Ronaldo to be the number one sports star in 82 different countries, including Italy, Spain and Switzerland.
NBA legend Lebron James was revealed to be the second most searched for male sports star worldwide, followed by the Brazilian footballer, Neymar. Interestingly, Tom Brady was the only American Footballer to feature on the list.
When it came to world’s most famous female sportspeople, UFC legend Ronda Rousey was able to fight off the competition with ease.
With almost double the amount of annual global searches than footballer Alex Morgan who came in at second place, Rousey topped the list in 93 different countries around the world.
Originally trained in judo, after becoming the first American woman to earn an Olympic medal in the sport at the 2008 Summer Olympics, Rousey began to pursue a career in mixed martial arts.
Rousey then went on to set the record for the most UFC title defences by a woman, losing only twice in the entirety of her professional MMA career. Interestingly, Rousey was one of eight MMA stars to make it into the top 20 list.
Widely regarded as one of the best tennis players of all time, Serena Williams came in third on the list, making it an all-American top three.
Williams has won an incredible 23 Grand Slam singles titles, which is record breaking in the Open Era, and second highest of all time.
Perhaps surprisingly, Serena’s sister Venus did not feature, despite her also being widely regarded as one of tennis’ all-time greats.
To read the full research and see the illustrative maps showing the top male and female sportsperson in various countries, please visit: https://www.sportsshoes.com/running-hub/motivation/the-worlds-top-sporting-superstars/