The 15 Most Famous Athletes in the World Right Now: Michael Jordan, Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, and More

Michael Jordan? Cristiano Ronaldo? Lionel Messi? Who do you think is the most famous athlete in the world right now?

Since many factors could be used to determine this result such as: For example, social media followers or activity, we used the website Ranker to find out who is currently taking this crown.

Ranker is a free-to-use website that allows users to rank any person, object, or even country. In this case, Moyens I/O uses it to find the 15 most famous athletes, but some other examples are: The funniest movies about ghosts, the best ice cream parlors and famous Renaissance artists, ranked.

Who are the 15 most famous athletes in the world right now?

15 Novak Djokovic

The countdown begins with Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic. In recent years, the 35-year-old has been winning Grand Slams left, right and center. Despite losing the Wimbledon final to Carlos Alcaraz in early July, Djokovic has conquered men’s tennis since Roger Federer retired and Rafael Nadal began suffering injury problems.

That’s not to say he wasn’t successful before the couple left the world stage, he certainly was. The term “The Big Three” was sometimes changed to “Four” to include Andy Murray.

14 Rafael Nadal

If we stick to tennis, Rafael Nadal is next. From 2005 to 2022, the Spaniard won 22 Grand Slams, including 14 at the French Open. Nadal’s love of the clay court led to unprecedented success on a specific surface, holding the record for the longest winning streak on a single surface at 81 years.

As mentioned above, the 36-year-old struggled with a hip problem in 2023, which caused him to drop out of the top 100 for the first time since 2003. This unfortunately led to him giving up the chance to retain his Australian Open and French Open titles, with Djokovic winning both.

13 Tiger Woods

One of the greatest golfers of all time is next in Tiger Woods. At 24 years old in 2000, he remains the youngest player to win the Golf Grand Slam. He has since won the same award twice, becoming only the second golfer after Jack Nicklaus to achieve this feat.

Other awards Woods has won include 15 professional major golf championships and 81 PGA Tour events. Outside of golf, Woods received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2019, becoming the fourth golfer to receive the award.

12 Serena Williams

The most successful tennis player of all time. Serena dominated the women’s tennis landscape alongside her sister Venus until the former’s retirement in 2022. They won 30 Grand Slams together, the younger of the two won 23.

Off the court, Williams has won titles such as Laureus Female Athlete of the Year in 2003, 2010, 2016 and 2018, Sports Illustrated’s Female Athlete of the Year award in 2015, and was the only woman to make Forbes -List of 100 richest athletes list 2017.

11 John Cena

Cena first made a name for himself in the WWF/E (World Wrestling Foundation) and became the most famous member of the organization. While he has won several awards in WWE, the most impressive thing is becoming world champion 16 times.

The 45-year-old has certainly expanded his repertoire outside of the WWE world, even appearing in the new “Barbie” movie. This isn’t his first foray into Hollywood, where Cena stars in films like Ferdinand, Trainwreck and Bumblebee.

10 Conor McGregor

The Irishman has done wonders to market the sport of UFC and in return has become the most famous mixed martial arts fighter of all time. McGregor was the featherweight and lightweight champion during his MMA career.

The 34-year-old is known more for his often controversial and antagonistic personality, who often has the perfect quote for journalists and UFC fans. McGregor has also opened a pub in his hometown of Dublin, where Guinness is particularly popular.

9 Tom Brady

Tom Brady was the first athlete to make the list in an all-American sport. He has been the king of the NFL since he was drafted by the New England Patriots in 2000. Brady won six Super Bowls and four Super Bowl MVPs in Foxborough before moving south to Tampa Bay in 2019.

Quarterback Brady then became one of the few players to win the Lombardi Trophy for two different franchises. Together with his long-time teammate Rob Gronkowski, he led the Buccaneers to their first Super Bowl victory since 2002 at the age of 43.

8 Steph Curry

Over the past few decades, the eyes and ears of the NBA have turned from Michael Jordan to the late great Kobe Bryant and LeBron James to Steph Curry. The Golden State Warrior has won three NBA championships, was an NBA All-Star six times and was named league MVP twice.

The son of former NBA player Dell Curry also holds several records, including most combined three-pointers (along with teammate Klay Thompson) in a season, making 484 during the 2013-14 season.

7 Neymar

There’s something about Brazilian footballers that just keeps fans on the edge of their seats. Samba flair, “Joga Bonito” or just plain fun, Neymar has embodied this many times throughout his career, particularly while playing at Barcelona as part of a strong three alongside Luis Suárez and Lionel Messi.

However, Neymar has been under fire since his record-breaking transfer to PSG in the summer of 2017, with some supporters and pundits questioning his ambitions. Ligue 1 can be considered a less competitive league than La Liga, especially given PSG’s financial dominance over its rivals.

6 Roger Federer

Roger Federer completes the “Big Three” of tennis and, according to Ranker, is more famous than Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic. The Swiss native has exuded class both on and off the pitch since retiring in 2022. His performance at Wimbledon this summer showed the respect he has earned during his time in the sport.

He also shared a funny moment with Andy Murray after the Scot’s first-round victory, but how could you not appreciate a man who has amassed 20 Grand Slam titles and shares the same podium as Nadal and Djokovic?

5 Usain Bolt

The fastest man on the planet. At both the Olympic Games in Beijing 2008 and London 2012, Bolt made history by breaking the world record twice. 9.69 seconds in China, followed by 9.63 in London. Bolt also won his third 100m gold medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics.

In addition to the Jamaican’s achievements in the 100m sprint, he won five more gold medals, another three in the 200m dash and two in the 4x100m relay. Bolt infamously ventured into another sport, making a brief appearance for A-League club Central Coast Mariners.

4 Lebron James

Basketball icon LeBron James is the most famous active NBA player and is nearing the end of a remarkable career. James played for the Cleveland Cavaliers, Miami Heat and now the LA Lakers and has won four NBA titles, four NBA Finals MVPs and four league MVPs.

Outside court, Forbesreported that James became the first active player to become a billionaire, as the 38-year-old now holds shares in his beloved Premier League club Liverpool as well as Serie A club AC Milan. Interestingly, James starred alongside John Cena in the 2015 film Trainwreck.