New research has revealed the most popular footballers in 170 different countries around the world.
The research, compiled by SportsShoes.com, uses Google search data to find out which football players are searched for the most, from Sir Bobby Charlton who first graced a pitch in 1953, to Phil Foden who made his debut in the 19/20 season, the findings shine a light on the biggest stars to ever grace a football pitch.
Portuguese football genius Cristiano Ronaldo was found to be the most searched for footballer of all time, with nearly 100 million annual searches. Not only was he named the most popular footballer, he was also found to be the most searched for athlete across all sports, ranking as the top sportsperson in 82 different countries and trumping some of the world’s most iconic sporting heroes such as Michael Jordan, Mike Tyson, Conor McGregor and Tiger Woods.
The Madeira born star is known for breaking footballing records and is Portugal’s top goal scorer of all time. The Juventus player has also won the Ballon d’Or a staggering five times, with only Lionel Messi, arguably his biggest rival, winning it more across the award’s lifespan. Incidentally, Messi ranks as the third most popular footballer of all time, with almost 39 million searches per year.
Most Searched Footballers of All Time (according to annual searches)
| Ranking | Sportsperson | Nationality | Annual Global Searches |
| 1 | Cristiano Ronaldo | Portuguese | 99,207,840 |
| 2 | Neymar | Brazilian | 76,622,600 |
| 3 | Lionel Messi | Argentinian | 38,967,190 |
| 4 | Diego Maradona | Argentinian | 31,146,240 |
| 5 | Ronaldinho | Brazilian | 30,366,410 |
| 6 | Pelé | Brazilian | 23,486,730 |
| 7 | David Beckham | English | 20,279,640 |
| 8 | Luis Suárez | Uruguayan | 16,879,330 |
| 9 | Sergio Ramos | Spanish | 15,094,540 |
| 10 | Gareth Bale | Welsh | 13,519,820 |
| 11 | Kylian Mbappe | French | 11,653,520 |
| 12 | Eden Hazard | Belgian | 13,519,820 |
| 13 | Zlatan Ibrahimovic | Swedish | 11,000,070 |
| 14 | Thiago Silva | Brazilian | 10,116,580 |
| 15 | Robert Lewandowski | Polish | 9,501,070 |
| 16 | Paulo Dybala | Argentinian | 9,449,810 |
| 17 | Sadio Mané | Senegalese | 9,350,300 |
| 18 | Mohamed Salah | Egyptian | 8,967,190 |
| 19 | Paul Pogba | French | 8,794,780 |
| 20 | Antoine Griezmann | French | 8,794,780 |
Perhaps surprisingly, Neymar da Silva Santos Júnior, known as Neymar is the second most searched footballer of all time, ranking above legends of the game Ronaldinho, Diego Maradona and Pelé, the latter of which he is often compared to. The Brazilian Paris Saint-Germain player has a host of trophies to his name, including the continental treble of La Liga, the Copa del Rey and the UEFA Champions League.
Demonstrating that great footballing moments can win the minds and hearts of fans forever, many of the players in the top 20 have long since retired. The late, great Argentine Diego Maradona ranks fourth on this list, renowned for his talent in taking free-kicks and adoringly named El Pibe de Oro (The Golden Boy) throughout his footballing career. Maradona scored 34 goals in 91 caps for Argentina and went on to manage the national team in 2008. Maradona also played in four FIFA World Cups, winning the Golden Ball in 1986, and broke the world record transfer fee on two occasions.
Maradona received the honour of winning joint FIFA Player of the 20th Century award alongside Pelé who ranks 6th on the list. The Brazilian needs no introduction, receiving numerous accolades throughout his iconic football career, having been named the International Olympic Committee’s Player of the Century and featuring in Time’s list of the 100 most important people of the 20th century. Pelé still holds a Guinness World Record for his 1,279 goals in 1,363 games across his career.
National Talent
Whilst Brazilians feature more than any other nationality in the list, Argentinians aren’t far behind, with Lionel Messi ranking third most popular of all footballers. Messi currently holds captaincy for both Club (Barcelona) and country (Argentina) and is the record highest goal scorer for both. Messi also received a feature in Time’s 100 most influential people in the world 2011 & 2012.
Three French players also feature in the top 20 most popular – Kylian Mbappe, Paul Pogba and Antoine Griezmann, whilst only two Brits feature. Household name David Beckham comes in at 7th, whilst Welsh Gareth Bale just makes it into the top 10.
