ESPN's list:
1. Cristiano Ronaldo (Soccer)
2. LeBron James (Apehoop)
3. Lionel Messi (Soccer)
4. Neymar (Soccer)
5. Roger Federer (Tennis)
6. Kevin Durant (Apehoop)
7. Tiger Woods (Golf)
8. Virat Kohli (Cricket)
9. James Rodriguez (Soccer)
10. Rafael Nadal (Tennis)
espn.go.com
LGTSS
>tsuu
>no baseball
>no meme curry
I'm surprised Durant, Kohli and James are there. This list would be even worse with any baseball player.
too many amerilard """""""""""""athletes""""""""""""""
show some country pride you xenophilic faggot
>Kohli
When you have one country that has over a billion people who only care about one sport its not surprising, and he is a genuine superstar there. The other pooinloo cricket countries (Pakistan, Bangladesh) also have sizeable populations.
>James
Strange one. Maybe he is big in Latin America?
Couldn't name a single baseball athlete alive 2bh
same 2bh
Babe Ruth is the only one I could name
I only know the top 3 , durant just last year and neymar from the WC memes
Kohli is a regional star at most. People like Federer, Nerman, CR7, Messi, Nadal, LeBron are world starts, faces that would be recognized everywhere (reminder that shouting "Messi" can save your life) . I don't think it justifies the >most famous athletes
>Maybe he is big in Latin America?
He is very famous worldwide, reminder that he was the top scorer in the most watched event in the world. But I wouldn't rank him above Bayol.
It's ranked on raw numbers I'm fairly certain.
And it so happens that India has a larger population than the entirety of the the Americas
Kohli is literally WHO and Rodriguez is known only cause of the WC desu
>cam newton most famous football player
wot
t. La Raza
How the fuck do you not know tiger Woods or Federer? How old are you
Cause of the dab
>hamez
why
cause he dabs on dem niggas
Kek
John Rocker and Curt Schilling nigga
>Kevin Durant above Tiger fucking Woods
>Kevin Durant on the list at all
what in the actual fuck
>james rodriguez
literally
who
>8. Virat Kohli (Cricket)
How is James so famous. Yeah he had a great World Cup 2 years ago but what the hell has he done since then. Besides sit on the bench for Real Madrid.
>ESPN
Now there's your problem
>ESPN creates another retarded stat to get clicks
he is literally the biggest deal in south america, behind messi and neymar
Tiger hasn't been relevant in a decade
How close is Disney to abandoning ship on ESPN?
I went to Naples, Italy recently and I actually saw 2 different people wearing KD jerseys.
I'd never think I'd see anything OKC related outside of America. Felt awesome desu.
Basketball is still growing internationally and I guess it's popular with younger Europeans.
The only reason Lebron is the on the list is due to his soccer-esque diving skills.
Disney would never do that.
They'll overhaul the entire thing before they abandoned it.
You are aware that basketball is probably the second most popular team sport in the world? North America, Argentina, Europe, China etc all love basketball. I'm surprised LeBron is in front of Messi and Neymar, but its not shocking hes in the top 5.
A region that includes India, Pakistan, and any other cricket loving countries which might know about this dude easily adds up to over two billion people.
Makes the Americas look tiny desu.
Ichiro faggot
>james "just got famous from one game in the world cup" rodrigues over tom brady
>7. Tiger Woods (Golf)
is he even relevant anymore?
Nobody outside America would recognize Tom Brady. He looks like a gay model than an athlete
He is as a failure.
So basically any sport where you wear a hat or helmet makes you was less popular
Djokovic on suicide watch
Hmm... interesting.
I can't see why tho :^)
players wear hats in 3/5 sports listed retard
people who wear helmets being less popular makes sense though
I'm just looking at the top of the list - it's mostly soccer and basketball. Golf seems to be the exception.
>Counting Indian facebook likes
A lot of those big name tennis players don't wear hats most of the time.
Cricket is irrelevant.
They get a lot of close up camera shots in Golf so the hat doesn't matter.
>Autoracing
>2 literally whos above Lewis Hamilton
>7 literally whos before gimi
>pandering to curries
stay absolutely cucked murrka
I know nothing of Soccer but Messi is a lot more famous here in burgerland as far as i know
>lelBron
>KD
>it's another E!SJW pandering to niggers episode
>hurr durr basketball isn't internationally popular and the biggest stars of basketball aren't internationally popular at all
>hurr durr china and the US don't make up significant portions of the human population and world media
If you went up to people on the streets and said "name a golfer" he'd still be far and way the most common answer.
it seems like ESPN og these "international" lists just have Messi and Ronaldo and then pick som random footballers to make it seem international
too many literal who american football and basketball players
>nr. 91 GAY
lmao
Surely it's the NASCAR drivers that have to be the most ridiculous inclusions. Literally watched by no one outside the US and even then it's not part of North America's 'big 4' sports.
>9. James Rodriguez (Soccer)
lel sure
>Virat Kohli
Who?
...
>63. Danica Patrick
>Only athlete from NZ is an 18 year old Korean girl
Just fuck my life up ph am.
Next time they make a list Steven Adams will be on there. He's an up and coming star in the NBA and plays for a team that almost beat the greatest team in basketball history last weekend.
to be fair she's the only nascar driver I could name
>zero (0) aussies
I hope you've practiced your haka kiwibro because we're going to war.
Portugal confirmed for literally the best sport nation in the world.
Pffff so like every soccer player ever?
>james rodriguez
what?
get a load of this cuck
>8. Virat Kohli (Cricket)
>9. James Rodriguez (Soccer)
Literal whos.
Also surprised Curry isn't on this list, given his bandwagoning.
TSUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU
for people questioning these rankings, the methodology is quantitative (though weighting of metrics is subjective)
I wouldn't even know LeBron if I didn't browse Sup Forums
>No Maradona
>No Cruyff
List discarded
>2. LeBron James (Apehoop)
I GUARANTEE you that most people outside of Yankistan have no idea who that is
>6. Kevin Durant (Apehoop)
Who?
This, he's literally unknown in europe. nobody cares about niggerhoop, apeball whatever you want to call it
Surely Wayne Rooney is more famous than "Kevin Durant" or "Virat Kohli" or even James?
By the way I'm not saying Rooney is GOOD (although I think he is good in his new midfield role), I'm saying that he's famous
>Durant
>Nadal
>No Curry because of current hype
>No Djokovic because of first Tennis player to 100 million career winnings
>No Conor Mcgoober
>No Floyd Mayweather
Shit list senpai
not heard of either of those basketball nobodies, nobody watches it outside america
Who the fuck is lebron james?
Nah some continentals watch basketball so obviously know who he is
>ESPN doesn't count rugby
too bad Dan Carter would probably be pretty high (no top ten)
>virat kohli
I know india has 1 billion people but wasn't tendulkar more popular? I've never heard this name in my life
Lomuh, Wilkinson and maybe Chabal are the only "mediatic" rugby players outside said sport's fanbase.
>some pajeet above Bryant and Bolt
>Ovechkin above Crosby
wut
tendulkar is by far more well known than Kohli, both in the subcontinent and world wide. the list is shit
id even go as far as to say that Tendulkar is 3rd most well known sportsman, lagging way way way way behind CRonaldo and Messi
There is no way that Suarez is less famous than James 'who' Rodriguez.
He is retired
Looks like current players. Tendulkar retired three years ago.
the average normie only knows the top 5 at best.
>James
kek.
>britbongs flustered about NBA superstars being famous
Even in Finland where the only relevant team sport is hockey, people do know LeBron and some people know Durant too, but I believe Curry more known than him.
Lampard>Gerrard
Wew lad
>Usain Bolt not top 5
lmao
#8 LITERALLY who the fuck is this guy?
lol if you think people in finland know durant or curry, lebron might make the top 100 most famous foreign athletes
actual list would be 10 football players and maybe some pooinloos that the rest of the world has no idea about
>LeBron James above Messi
Sure thing ESPN
Is this worldwide or just in the USA? Surely the average kid in Africa or Brazil or whatever is more likely to know a football player than a basketball one
The very suggestion than LeBron is more well known than Messi is ludicrous.
Is this like when the NFL claimed there was like 100million NFL fans in Europe?
Americans seem to get lied to a lot by their media about the actual popularity of their sports.
Cristiano Ronaldo
Lionel Messi
Neymar
Wayne Rooney
Roger Federer
Tiger Woods
Lebron James
Some cricketer idk
Alistair Cook pal.
I would think it's more likely to be someone from India considering how much more popular cricket is there than in the UK