Top 10 Most Famous Athletes of 2016

Top 10 Most Famous Athletes of 2016 

Cristiano Ronaldo conquers the list of top 100 most famous athletes released by sporting giant ESPN. The list was researched by ESPN’s director of sports analytics and released on the 31st May. The list features a cloud of great names of the sporting world and was researched using a formula which combined salary and endorsements along with social media following and Google search engine popularity, the results of which were calculated to figure out who the 100 most famous athletes on the planet were. But for now we are going to discuss only the top ten most famous athletes of 2016.

Portuguese and Real Madrid footballer Cristiano Ronaldo, proclaimed to be the most famous sportsperson on the planet. Ronaldo who was vital in real Madrid record 11^th champion’s league victory is certainly enjoying his life.

Behind Cristiano is NBA legend LeBron James. LeBron James is on the 2^nd place in top ten most famous athlete of 2016. The top ten list is dominated by footballers as it also features Lionel Messi, Neymar Jr and James Rodriguez on 3^rd, 4th and 9^th spot respectively. One of the all-time tennis greats Roger Federer ranks among the top five most famous athletes in the world. The 34-year-old Swiss comes in at No. 5 in the ESPN World Fame 100, behind Cristiano Ronaldo, LeBron James, Lionel Messi and Neymar. Other tennis stars Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic also rank inside the top 20, at respectively No.10 and No.16.

Only cricketer that makes cut into top ten most famous athletes of 2016 is none other than Indian test skipper Virat Kohli. Fueled and charged by his IPL performances and skyrocketing endorsements Virat is on highest number in cricketers and 8^th among all. Golf legend Tiger Woods also makes the list of top ten most famous athletes.

Here is the complete list of top ten most famous athletes of 2016.