08/25/2023. El Diego, consecrated world champion in 1986, rose to the top of the ranking: Lionel Messi was in seventh place.
A little more than 1000 days after his death, Diego Armando Maradona was chosen as the most famous athlete in history by the Givemesport media, from England, which put together its own ranking and chose the world champion in Mexico 1986 over several figures, including Lionel Messi.
To measure different variants within this vote, parameters were taken into account, such as the impact of each one on the sport they carried out, the time when they shone, the different achievements they achieved and the fanaticism of the public for their image.
“Defending that Maradona is the most popular athlete of all time is not that difficult. His goalscoring tally is not close to that of Messi, Ronaldo or Pelé, with just 338 goals in just over 600 games, but if we add the traditional one’ eye test’, Maradona is the king”, the medium justified his choice.
They added: “His skills, his ability to dribble and his ability to turn a game around in an instant is what makes him so great. His solo goal against England in the 1986 World Cup is a case in point. The four-time Argentine soccer player of the year, a two-time Scudetto winner with Napoli and a World Cup winner with Argentina is further added substance to the argument. Look how adored he is in Naples and in Argentina. He is a very popular athlete!”
He is even considered by FIFA as the most influential footballer in the history of the World Cups, since his performance in the 1986 World Cup was overwhelming and superlative, which allowed him to achieve eternal glory with the Argentine National Team.
THIS IS THE RANKING OF THE MOST POPULAR ATHLETES
01- Diego Maradona
02- Michael Jordan
03- Pele
04- Babe Ruth
05- Larry Bird
06- Roger Federer
07- Lionel Messi
08- Wayne Gretzky
09- Sir Donald Bradman
10- LeBron James
11- Tom Brady
12- Usain Bolt
13- Serena Williams
14- Muhammad Ali
2023-08-25 03:11:02
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