Athletes Who Is The Most Famous Athlete In The World Right Now?  

Celebrity Lists
5k votes 299 voters 1.1k views 59 items

List Rules Vote up the most famous athletes in the world right now and those who currently dominate their sport.

When it comes to the most famous athletes in the world right now, a select few names easily top the list. Not only that, but many of these popular players are also some of the best athletes in their respective sport. However, while skill and statistics are surely major factors in ranking athletes by fame, the most famous athlete out doesn't have to be the very best—especially not on this list. In short, it's up to you fans to decide just who takes the title for the most famous athlete, as well as those who follow close behind. 

For starters, we all know famous male athletes like Lebron James, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Roger Federer will find themselves high on the list. Then you have top female athletes like Serena Williams and Hope Solo. Keep in mind, though, the sport isn't necessarily a factor here. Whether you consider natural talent or straight statistics in determining who's the most famous, that's your choice. Perhaps it's who you see on TV the most, or those with the most endorsements. Whatever it is, give your input as to who makes the list of best athletes today with the most fame. 

Cast your votes for the most famous athletes below, and feel free to add any athletes missing from the list. 

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Cristiano Ronaldo is listed (or ranked) 1 on the list Who Is The Most Famous Athlete In The World Right Now?
Cristiano Ronaldo age 33 Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro, GOIH, known as Cristiano Ronaldo, is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays for Spanish club Real Madrid C.F. and the Portugal national team. He is a ...more

2
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Roger Federer is listed (or ranked) 2 on the list Who Is The Most Famous Athlete In The World Right Now?
Roger Federer age 36 Tennis player Roger Federer (IPA pronunciation: [ˈɹɑ.dʒər ˈfɛ.dər.ər]) (born August 8, 1981) is a Swiss tennis professional, currently ranked World No. 1. Many experts and many of his own tennis ...more

3
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Conor McGregor is listed (or ranked) 3 on the list Who Is The Most Famous Athlete In The World Right Now?
Conor McGregor age 29 Conor Anthony McGregor is an Irish mixed martial artist who competes in the Featherweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He is the former Cage Warriors Featherweight and ...more

4
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Neymar is listed (or ranked) 4 on the list Who Is The Most Famous Athlete In The World Right Now?
Neymar age 26 Neymar da Silva Santos Júnior, commonly known as Neymar or Neymar Jr., is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays for Spanish club FC Barcelona and is the captain for the Brazil ...more

5
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Rafael Nadal is listed (or ranked) 5 on the list Who Is The Most Famous Athlete In The World Right Now?
Rafael Nadal age 31 Rafael "Rafa" Nadal Parera is a Spanish professional tennis player currently ranked world No. 5. He is widely regarded as one of the finest clay court players in history and has been ...more

6
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Maria Sharapova is listed (or ranked) 6 on the list Who Is The Most Famous Athlete In The World Right Now?
Maria Sharapova age 30 Maria Yuryevna Sharapova is a Russian professional tennis player, who as of October 6, 2014 is ranked world No. 2 by the Women's Tennis Association. A United States resident since 1994, ...more

7
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Andrés Iniesta is listed (or ranked) 7 on the list Who Is The Most Famous Athlete In The World Right Now?
Andrés Iniesta age 33 Andrés Iniesta Luján is a Spanish professional footballer who plays for FC Barcelona and the Spain national team as a central midfielder. Iniesta came through La Masia, the ...more

8
81 67
Novak Djokovic is listed (or ranked) 8 on the list Who Is The Most Famous Athlete In The World Right Now?
Novak Djokovic age 30 Novak Djokovic is a Serbian professional tennis player who is currently ranked world No. 1 by the Association of Tennis Professionals. He is considered to be one of the greatest tennis players ...more

9
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Virat Kohli is listed (or ranked) 9 on the list Who Is The Most Famous Athlete In The World Right Now?
Virat Kohli age 29 Virat Kohli is an Indian cricketer. A right-handed middle-order batsman, he is the captain of the Indian Test team. He captained the victorious Indian team at the 2008 U/19 Cricket World Cup ...more

10
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Rory McIlroy is listed (or ranked) 10 on the list Who Is The Most Famous Athlete In The World Right Now?
Rory McIlroy age 28 Rory McIlroy, MBE is a Northern Irish professional golfer from Holywood in County Down who is a member of both the European and PGA Tours. He is the current World Number One and a four-time ...more

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Lionel Messi is listed (or ranked) 11 on the list Who Is The Most Famous Athlete In The World Right Now?
Lionel Messi age 30 Lionel Andrés "Leo" Messi Cuccittini is an Argentine professional footballer who plays for Spanish club FC Barcelona and the Argentina national team. He is a forward and serves ...more

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LeBron James is listed (or ranked) 12 on the list Who Is The Most Famous Athlete In The World Right Now?
LeBron James age 33 LeBron Raymone James is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association. Standing at 6 ft 8 in and weighing 250 lbs., he has started ...more

The Best Current ESPN Shows

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Sun Yang is listed (or ranked) 13 on the list Who Is The Most Famous Athlete In The World Right Now?
Sun Yang age 26 Sun Yang is a Chinese Olympic and world-record-holding distance swimmer. He swam for China at the 2008 Olympics. At the 2010 Asian Games, he won the men's 1500m freestyle in an Asian Record; ...more

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Stephen Curry is listed (or ranked) 14 on the list Who Is The Most Famous Athlete In The World Right Now?
Stephen Curry age 30 Wardell Stephen "Steph" Curry II is an American professional basketball player who plays for the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association. Listed at 6 ft 3 in tall ...more

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Tom Brady is listed (or ranked) 15 on the list Who Is The Most Famous Athlete In The World Right Now?
Tom Brady age 40 Thomas Edward Patrick "Tom" Brady, Jr., nicknamed Tom Terrific, is an American football quarterback for the New England Patriots of the National Football League. After playing college ...more

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Odell Beckham Jr. is listed (or ranked) 16 on the list Who Is The Most Famous Athlete In The World Right Now?
collinpuppy9 added Odell Beckham Jr. age 25 Odell Cornelious Beckham Jr., is an American football wide receiver for the New York Giants of the National Football League. He was drafted by the New York Giants in the first round of the 2014 ...more

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Tiger Woods is listed (or ranked) 17 on the list Who Is The Most Famous Athlete In The World Right Now?
Tiger Woods age 42 Eldrick Tont "Tiger" Woods is an American professional golfer who is among the most successful golfers of all time. He has been one of the highest-paid athletes in the world for ...more

Famous Actors Who Were Almost James Bond

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Julian Edelman is listed (or ranked) 18 on the list Who Is The Most Famous Athlete In The World Right Now?
collinpuppy9 added Julian Edelman age 31 Julian Edelman is an American football wide receiver and punt returner for the New England Patriots. He was drafted in the seventh round of the 2009 NFL Draft by the Patriots. He played college ...more

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Cam Newton is listed (or ranked) 19 on the list Who Is The Most Famous Athlete In The World Right Now?
collinpuppy9 added Cam Newton age 28 Cameron Jerrell "Cam" Newton is an American football quarterback for the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League. He played college football for the Auburn Tigers in Alabama ...more

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Aaron Rodgers is listed (or ranked) 20 on the list Who Is The Most Famous Athlete In The World Right Now?
collinpuppy9 added Aaron Rodgers age 34 Aaron Charles Rodgers is an American football quarterback for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League. Rodgers played college football for California, where he set several career ...more

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John Cena is listed (or ranked) 21 on the list Who Is The Most Famous Athlete In The World Right Now?
KittyBusiness added John Cena age 40 John Felix Anthony Cena is an American professional wrestler, rapper and actor signed to WWE, where he is the current WWE United States Champion in his fourth reign. Cena is the public face of ...more

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Serena Williams is listed (or ranked) 22 on the list Who Is The Most Famous Athlete In The World Right Now?
Serena Williams age 36 Serena Jameka Williams is an American professional tennis player who is currently ranked No. 1 in women's singles tennis. The Women's Tennis Association has ranked her World No. 1 in singles on ...more

10 Famous Women We REALLY Didn't Need to See Naked

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Larry Fitzgerald is listed (or ranked) 23 on the list Who Is The Most Famous Athlete In The World Right Now?
collinpuppy9 added Larry Fitzgerald age 32 Larry Darnell Fitzgerald, Jr. is an American football wide receiver for the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League. He played college football for the University of Pittsburgh, and ...more

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Mookie Betts is listed (or ranked) 24 on the list Who Is The Most Famous Athlete In The World Right Now?
collinpuppy9 added Mookie Betts age 25 Markus Lynn "Mookie" Betts, is an American professional baseball outfielder for the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball. Betts is listed at 5'9", 156 pounds, and bats and ...more

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Julio Jones is listed (or ranked) 25 on the list Who Is The Most Famous Athlete In The World Right Now?
collinpuppy9 added Julio Jones age 26 Quintorris Lopez "Julio" Jones is an American football wide receiver for the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Falcons with the sixth overall pick ...more

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Rob Gronkowski is listed (or ranked) 26 on the list Who Is The Most Famous Athlete In The World Right Now?
collinpuppy9 added Rob Gronkowski age 28 Robert James "Rob" Gronkowski, nicknamed "Gronk", is a tight end for the New England Patriots of the National Football League. He played college football for the University ...more

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Russell Wilson is listed (or ranked) 27 on the list Who Is The Most Famous Athlete In The World Right Now?
KittyBusiness added Russell Wilson age 29 Russell Carrington Wilson is an American football quarterback for the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League. Wilson was selected by the Seahawks with the 12th pick in the third round ...more

The Most Annoying TV Hosts

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Le'Veon Bell is listed (or ranked) 28 on the list Who Is The Most Famous Athlete In The World Right Now?
collinpuppy9 added Le'Veon Bell age 23 Le'Veon Bell is an American football running back for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Steelers in the second round of the 2013 NFL Draft. He played ...more

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Carson Wentz is listed (or ranked) 29 on the list Who Is The Most Famous Athlete In The World Right Now?
collinpuppy9 added Carson Wentz Age 25 Carson James Wentz (born December 30, 1992) is an American football quarterback. He played college football at North Dakota State University (NDSU) and was selected by the Eagles with the second ...more

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Aaron Donald is listed (or ranked) 30 on the list Who Is The Most Famous Athlete In The World Right Now?
collinpuppy9 added Aaron Donald age 24 Aaron Charles Donald is an American football defensive tackle for the St. Louis Rams of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Rams in the first round of the 2014 NFL Draft. He ...more

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Antonio Brown is listed (or ranked) 31 on the list Who Is The Most Famous Athlete In The World Right Now?
collinpuppy9 added Antonio Brown age 37 Antonio Duval Brown is a former American football wide receiver. Brown played with the Buffalo Bills and the Washington Redskins in the National Football League. He played college football at ...more

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Matt Ryan is listed (or ranked) 32 on the list Who Is The Most Famous Athlete In The World Right Now?
collinpuppy9 added Matt Ryan age 32 Matthew Thomas "Matt" Ryan is an American football quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League. He was drafted in the first round as the third overall pick in ...more

Famous People Who Have Been Reported Missing

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Todd Gurley is listed (or ranked) 33 on the list Who Is The Most Famous Athlete In The World Right Now?
collinpuppy9 added Todd Gurley II age 23 Todd Gurley is an American football running back. He played college football at Georgia.

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Venus Williams is listed (or ranked) 34 on the list Who Is The Most Famous Athlete In The World Right Now?
Venus Williams age 37 Venus Ebony Starr Williams is an American professional tennis player who is a former World No. 1 and is ranked World No. 11 in singles as of February 1, 2015. She has been ranked World No. 1 in ...more

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Kevin Durant is listed (or ranked) 35 on the list Who Is The Most Famous Athlete In The World Right Now?
Kevin Durant age 29 Kevin Wayne Durant is an American professional basketball player who plays with the Oklahoma City Thunder of the National Basketball Association. Standing at 6 ft 9 in and weighing 240 pounds, ...more

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J. D. Martinez is listed (or ranked) 36 on the list Who Is The Most Famous Athlete In The World Right Now?
collinpuppy9 added J. D. Martinez age 30 Julio Daniel "J. D." Martinez is an American professional baseball outfielder for the Detroit Tigers of Major League Baseball. He is of Cuban descent and previously played for the

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Jimmy Garoppolo is listed (or ranked) 37 on the list Who Is The Most Famous Athlete In The World Right Now?
collinpuppy9 added Jimmy Garoppolo age 26 James "Jimmy" Garoppolo is an American football quarterback for the New England Patriots of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Patriots in the second round of the 2014 ...more

Things You Should Stop Apologizing For

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Alvin Kamara is listed (or ranked) 38 on the list Who Is The Most Famous Athlete In The World Right Now?
collinpuppy9 added Alvin Kamara Alvin Kamara is the American football running back for the Alabama Crimson Tide.

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J. J. Watt is listed (or ranked) 39 on the list Who Is The Most Famous Athlete In The World Right Now?
collinpuppy9 added J. J. Watt age 29 Justin James "J. J." Watt is an American football defensive end for the Houston Texans of the National Football League. He played college football for the University of Wisconsin and ...more

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Marshon Lattimore is listed (or ranked) 40 on the list Who Is The Most Famous Athlete In The World Right Now?
collinpuppy9 added Marshon Lattimore age 22

NFL CB

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Kyrie Irving is listed (or ranked) 41 on the list Who Is The Most Famous Athlete In The World Right Now?
Kyrie Irving age 26 Kyrie Andrew Irving is an American professional basketball player for the Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association. Irving was born in Melbourne, Australia but grew up in West ...more

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Russell Westbrook is listed (or ranked) 42 on the list Who Is The Most Famous Athlete In The World Right Now?
Russell Westbrook age 29 Russell Westbrook Jr. is an American professional basketball player who currently plays for the Oklahoma City Thunder of the National Basketball Association. Westbrook played college basketball ...more

The Hottest Athlete Daughters of All Time

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Drew Brees is listed (or ranked) 43 on the list Who Is The Most Famous Athlete In The World Right Now?
Drew Brees age 39 Drew Christopher Brees is an American football quarterback for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League. After a prolific college football career at Purdue University, he was ...more

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Chloe Kim is listed (or ranked) 44 on the list Who Is The Most Famous Athlete In The World Right Now?
KittyBusiness added Chloe Kim Chloe Kim (born April 23, 2000) is an American snowboarder. She is a 2018 Winter Olympics gold medalist, four-time X Games gold medalist and the first woman to win a gold medal in snowboarding ...more

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Shohei Otani is listed (or ranked) 45 on the list Who Is The Most Famous Athlete In The World Right Now?
KittyBusiness added Shohei Otani age 23 Shohei Ohtani is a Japanese professional baseball pitcher and designated hitter for the Los Angeles Angels of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played for the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham ...more

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15 97
Alexander Ovechkin is listed (or ranked) 46 on the list Who Is The Most Famous Athlete In The World Right Now?
Dave_7672 added Alexander Ovechkin age 32 Alexander Mikhailovich "Alex" Ovechkin is a Russian professional ice hockey winger and captain of the Washington Capitals of the National Hockey League. Prior to playing in the NHL, ...more

47
15 97
Sidney Crosby is listed (or ranked) 47 on the list Who Is The Most Famous Athlete In The World Right Now?
Sidney Crosby age 30 Sidney Patrick Crosby, ONS is a Canadian professional ice hockey player who serves as captain of the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League. Crosby was drafted first overall by the ...more

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James Harden is listed (or ranked) 48 on the list Who Is The Most Famous Athlete In The World Right Now?
James Harden age 28 James Edward Harden, Jr. is an American professional basketball player who currently plays for the Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association. Harden played college basketball for ...more

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Wayne Rooney is listed (or ranked) 49 on the list Who Is The Most Famous Athlete In The World Right Now?
Wayne Rooney age 32 Wayne Mark Rooney is an English professional footballer who plays for and captains both Manchester United and the England national team. He has played much of his career as a forward, but he has ...more

50
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Mike Trout is listed (or ranked) 50 on the list Who Is The Most Famous Athlete In The World Right Now?
Mike Trout age 26 Michael Nelson "Mike" Trout is an American professional baseball center fielder for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim of Major League Baseball. Trout is an American League Most ...more