Cristiano Ronaldo is a popular and well-known name to anyone who knows about soccer, and has continued to prove his popularity through various platforms. Ronaldo was trumped the most popular athlete on the ESPN World Fame 100, beating other extremely successful athletes such as Lebron James and Lionel Messi. The World Fame 100 calculates the top 100 athletes through a search score, endorsement dollars, and social media followers.

Ronaldo has won several trophies and titles in his soccer career, which includes playing for various teams. Some of the teams he played for in the past include Manchester United, which was one of the more popular teams he played on. Currently, he plays for Real Madrid. Ronaldo has played for Madrid since 2009, and has been one of the top contributors for the team. In addition to that, he plays for Portugal’s national team. In total, Ronaldo has won 25 trophies, To be more specific he has won five league titles, four UEFA Champions League titles, and one UEFA European Championship.

Lebron James took a close second in the battle for the top spot in the World Fame 100. Lebron had natural talent in basketball even at a young age, and quickly was recruited for his high school basketball team. He found success in playing and rapidly became one of the best players for the St. Vincent-St. Mary High school, which landed him one of the top high school players at the time. After going pro, Lebron has gotten honorable titles like being the Most Valuable Player in the NBA All-Star Game twice, and gotten NBA MVP four times. As of right now, he plays for the Cleveland Cavaliers, but in the past he also played for the Miami Heat.

Lionel Messi, another successful and prosperous soccer star, secured a strong third place in the competition for the most popular athlete. Messi is an Argentinian soccer forward who has a grand total of 32 trophies thus far in his professional career.  Some of his most prevailing achievements were winning four consecutive Ballons d’Or, six Copas del Rey, and nine La Liga titles. His entire professional career has been with a prominent club, known as Barcelona, where he still stands as one of the strongest players.