ESPN names Ronaldo World’s famous athlete

Cristiano Ronaldo is hoping to add another Champions League trophy to his cabinet this weekend but the
Portuguese star has already scooped an award this week.

The Real Madrid superstar leads the ESPN World Fame 100 list for the third year in a row, with the top
three positions unchanged from 2016 and 2017.

ESPN score athletes in three categories – search score, social media following and endorsement deals.

Ronaldo retains his crown after becoming the first player to score in 10 consecutive Champions League
matches, helping guide Real Madrid to this year’s final where they will aim for an unprecedented third
consecutive Champions League title.

The Portuguese earns in the region of $40million (£30m) through endorsements and has a social following
of 121.7m across the likes of Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

NBA superstar LeBron James, who is second on the shortlist, has a social following of 40.8m.

However King James earns $55m (£41m) through sponsorship endorsements such as Nike, Dunkin’ Donuts and
Coca-Cola.

Neymar, Roger Federer and Tiger Woods are all in the top 10 of ESPN’s shortlist.

Britain’s most famous athlete on the ESPN World Fame 100 is golf superstar Rory McIlroy, who has
established himself among the very best in world golf, notching up 14 PGA Tour and 13 European Tour
wins since turning professional in 2007.

Footballers dominate the ESPN World Fame 100, taking up 32 of the positions, followed by 13 basketball
stars, 12 tennis players, seven golfers, and seven American football players.

American athletes represent 31 positions on the list, the next most-represented countries are India
with 11 entries, and Brazil with six.

Among the 11 Premier League footballers in the ESPN World Fame 100, Arsenal’s Mesut Ozil was the
highest placed at 22, with Wayne Rooney, Paul Pogba, Sergio Aguero and Alexis Sanchez making the top
50.