Most Loved Sports Stars

Cristiano Ronaldo was the most Googled athlete over the last year, with almost 200 million searches

We’ve analysed Google search data to find the athletes with the most searches between September 2022 and August 2023. Here’s what we found across Football, Basketball, Cricket, Tennis and more

Cristiano Ronaldo - 199.4 million Google searches since September 2022

Taking the top spot is Cristiano Ronaldo, with almost 200 million Google searches in just the last year. At the end of 2022, the 38-year-old joined Al Nassr after being released by Manchester United. The switch from England to Saudi Arabia maintained his status as one of the highest-paid football players in the world. 

Neymar - 140.9 million Google searches since September 2022

Neymar takes second place with just over 140 million Google searches in the last 12 months. Like many in the 2023 summer transfer window, the Brazilian moved to Saudi Arabia, swapping Paris Saint-Germain for Al Hilal. Neymar is Brazil’s top goalscorer, with 79 goals, overtaking Pele, who has held the record since 1971. 

Lionel Messi - 104.4 million searches since September 2022

Our top three is completed by none other than Lionel Messi, who has over 100 million Google searches since September 2022. The Argentine’s status as one of the greatest football players ever was reaffirmed in 2022, as his country won the Qatar World Cup. Messi played a crucial role throughout the tournament, scoring seven goals, two of which came in the final against France. 

Cristiano Ronaldo was the most searched athlete in 11 countries, more than any other athlete

Seeing athletes who represent your nation succeed at the highest level can fill you with pride. That’s why we used search data to find the most searched athlete in each country represented by the athletes in our seeding list. 

Cristiano Ronaldo - 11 countries

Cristiano Ronaldo takes the top spot again as the most searched athlete in 11 countries. Ronaldo was, of course, the most searched athlete in Portugal. However, he was also the most searched athlete in Egypt, Canada, and Mexico, beating Mohamed Salah, Alphonso Davies, and Canelo Alvarez in their home countries, respectively.

Neymar - 4 countries

In second place is Neymar, who was the most searched athlete in four different countries. The 31-year-old came out on top in France, Norway, Greece, and his home country, Brazil. Neymar’s transfer to the French capital remains the most expensive transfer in history, at over €200 million.

Lebron James - 2 countries

Our top three is completed by Lebron James, the most searched athlete in two countries, the United States and the Dominican Republic. James is the all-time leading scorer in the NBA and is considered one of the greatest basketball players ever. NBA

Cristiano Ronaldo is the most-followed athlete on Instagram, with more than 600 million followers

Instagram is an excellent way for fans to connect with their favourite athletes. That’s why we’ve revealed the most-followed athletes in the world. 

Cristiano Ronaldo - 606 million Instagram followers

Cristiano Ronaldo has over 600 million Instagram followers and again takes the top spot. Not only is Ronaldo the most-followed athlete, but he is also the most-followed person on Instagram, taking the crown from Selena Gomez in 2018. 

Lionel Messi - 488 million Instagram followers

In second place is Lionel Messi, with 488 million Instagram followers. Lionel Messi is also the second most-followed account on Instagram. Despite having fewer followers than Ronaldo, Messi holds the record for the most-liked photo on the social media platform. Messi’s post celebrating his World Cup victory received over 75 million likes, overtaking a picture of an egg. 

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A post shared by Leo Messi (@leomessi)

Virat Kohli - 259 million Instagram followers

Our top three is completed by Virat Kohli, who has 259 million Instagram followers. The Indian cricketer is widely regarded as one of the best batters of all time. Kohli earned himself the nickname ‘The King’ after breaking multiple records during his decorated career.

Minjee Lee receives the most love in response to articles about her, with 91% of reactions being love reactions

Article sentiment is a great way to see how an athlete is perceived in the media. That’s why we used Buzzsumo to find what percentage of reactions to coverage of each athlete are love reactions.

Minjee Lee - 91% love reactions

Taking the top spot is Minjee Lee, with fans reacting with the love reaction 91% of the time. Lee is a nine-time LPGA tour winner and a two-time LPGA major championship winner, having won the Evian Championship and the U.S. Women’s Open in 2021 and 2022 respectively. In 2023, the Australian golfer was ranked as the sixth-best in the world, dropping two places from her 2022 ranking. 

Leylah Fernandez - 87% love reactions

In second place is Leylah Fernandez, with 87% of reactions she receives being love reactions. The 21-year-old made her professional debut in 2019, and reached the final of the U.S. Open two years later. Unfortunately, the Canadian lost to Emma Raducanu in straight sets. However, her victories against Naomi Osaka and Angelique Kerber in that tournament made her one of the most exciting prospects in tennis. 

Coco Gauff/Chun In-Gee - 86% love reactions

Our top three is completed by two athletes, Coco Gauff and Chun In-Gee, with 86% of reactions being love. 

Coco Gauff turned professional in 2018 at the age of 14-years-old. It was at this age when she won her first professional match, playing in the ITF Women’s Circuit earning herself a wild card into qualifying for the US Open, a tournament she would win five years later.

Chun In-Gee is a record-breaking golfer, who has won four LPGA tours. She was the first player in history to win three different tours in the same calendar year, winning in Japan, Korea, and the United States in 2015. One year later, Chun won the Evian Championship with a score of 21 under par, the lowest winning score in a major tournament.

The most searched female athlete is Iga Swiatek, with 15.6 million searches over the last 12 months

To reveal the most popular female athletes, we’ve looked at the total number of searches between September 2022 and August 2023. 

Iga Swiatek - 15.6 million Google searches in the last year

Iga Swiatek is the most searched female athlete in the world, with 15.6 million Google searches in the last 12 months. In 2022, Swiatek became the world’s No. 1 and became just the fourth player in WTA history to hold the ranking for more than 40 consecutive weeks in their first stint as the top-ranked player. 

Coco Gauff - 10.1 million Google searches in the last year

In second place, with 10.1 million Google searches in the last year, is Coco Guaff. The 19-year-old tennis player is currently ranked third in the world, and already holds six titles to her name as well as a win percentage of almost 70%.

Emma Raducanu - 9.6 million Google searches in the last year

Emma Raducanu concludes an all-tennis top three, with 9.6 million Google searches in the last year. Raducanu burst onto the tennis scene at the US Open, where the 20-year-old had to play three matches in the qualifying tournament to enter the main draw. Despite being ranked 150th in the World, Raducanu won the US Open defeating Leylah Fernandez in the final. She became the first British woman to reach the final of the US Open since 1968. 

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Searches for Coco Gauff have risen by 509%, more than any other female athlete

We’ve looked at the year-on-year increases for each female athlete in our list, to find out which athletes have risen the most in popularity. 

Coco Gauff - 509% year-on-year increase in Google searches

Taking the top spot is Coco Gauff, with a whopping 509% increase in Google searches in the last year. Many performances contributed to Gauff’s meteoric rise in tennis, but her start to the 2020 Australian Open particularly stood out. In the first round, she defeated tennis legend Venus Williams in straight sets, before progressing to the third round where she defeated Naomi Osaka, who was the defending champion. 

Alexia Putellas - 174% year-on-year increase in Google searches

In second place is Alexia Putellas, with a year-on-year increase of 174% in Google searches. Putellas is a two-time Ballon d’Or winner, with consecutive wins in 2021 and 2022. After missing most of the 2022/23 season recovering from an ACL injury, Putellas has not made the shortlist for the 2023 award. Putellas was part of the Spain squad that won the World Cup, defeating England 1-0 in the final. However, her involvement was limited as she was brought on in the 90th minute of the game. 

Minjee Lee/Simone Biles - 124% year-on-year increase in Google searches

Minjee Lee and Simone Biles complete our top three, sharing a year-on-year increase of 124%. 

Minjee Lee’s amateur career was certainly an indication of her potential. As a year 9 student at college, Lee became the youngest winner of the WA Amateur Open. Four years later, in 2010, she became the number one ranked amateur golfer, holding the title until turning professional. 

Simone Biles is the most decorated gymnast in history, with seven Olympic medals, and 30 World Championship medals. She is tied with Shannon Miller for the most Olympic medals won by an American Gymnast, and at 26 years of age, it’s expected that she will make this record her own. She also just fell short of winning a Laureus World Sport Award in 2022

These are the most searched athletes across each of their major sports, with up to 200 million

There were 12 different sports which made our seeding list, and we’ve found out the most searched athlete for each one. Below are the faces of each sport.

Soccer had the athlete with the most Google searches, as Cristiano Ronaldo accumulated 200 million in the last 12 months. Basketball and Cricket had the second and third highest number of searches, with Lebron James and Virat Kohli taking the top spot in those sports. After his Wimbledon win, Carlos Alcaraz takes the top spot, beating Novak Djokovic as he did in the final. Jake Paul coming out on top in the boxing list is one of the most surprising selections in our list, beating Canelo Alvarez and Tyson Fury. 

Methodology

We used Sportico and Forbes’ list of the highest-paid athletes in the world. We then removed any retired athletes and included some of our own additions. 

We then used Google’s Keyword Planner to find the athletes with the most searches, and the female athletes with the biggest year-on-year increase. 

Using our seeding list, we created another list of countries based on the nationalities of the players who made our original seeding list. We then used Google’s Keyword Planner again to find the most searched athletes in each country. 

We then used Instagram to see the athletes with the most followers. 

Finally, we used BuzzSumo to find the article sentiment for each player, taking the percentage of reactions that are love reactions. 

Data is accurate as of 02/10/2023.