Cristiano Ronaldo Loses Top Spot As Lionel Messi Is Named World’s Most Marketable Athlete

• Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi remain longstanding rivals
• The two football icons have heralded the last decade of the sport with their greatness
• Messi recently pipped the Portuguese star Ronaldo to top a list of global athletes

The seemingly eternal rivalry between Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi appears to have no end in sight.

Both football greats have dominated for the better part of the last two decades, consistently shattering records and reaching heights unprecedented in the sport's history.

Despite both players being away from the European spotlight, the rivalry persists, and Messi has now toppled Ronaldo to become the world's most marketable athlete.

Messi topples Ronaldo

According to a report courtesy of SportsPro media, the diminutive Argentine has displaced his Portuguese rival to become the world's most marketable athlete following his transfer to the Major League Soccer (MLS).

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Messi's contract with Inter Miami includes incentives tied to the club's merchandise sales, and he also has a deal with Apple, the streaming service for MLS matches, as reported by Sportico.

In contrast, despite his high-profile transfer to the Saudi Pro League, Ronaldo has fallen from the top spot to 27th on the list of marketable athletes.

The only other male footballer to break into the top ten, alongside Messi, is Paris Saint-Germain superstar Kylian Mbappe, who holds the ninth position.

Several other football stars have also made it into the top 50, including Bayern Munich's Harry Kane (22), Arsenal's Bukayo Saka (26), Al-Hilal's Neymar (31), Gremio's Luis Suarez (32), Manchester City's Erling Haaland (33), Chelsea's Thiago Silva (34), Tottenham Hotspur's Son Heung-min (36), Liverpool's Mohamed Salah (39), and Manchester United's Marcus Rashford (40).

The top ten list of the world's most marketable athletes comprises:

1. Lionel Messi

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2. LeBron James

3. Alex Morgan

4. Giannis Antetokounmpo

5. Megan Rapinoe

6. Mikaela Shiffrin

7. Lewis Hamilton

8. Simone Biles

9. Kylian Mbappe

10. Max Verstappen

Messi leads Haaland in Ballon d'Or vote

Earlier, Sports Brief reported that with less than two weeks to go to the 2023 Ballon d'Or ceremony, Messi has taken an overwhelming lead in the fan vote for the 2023 Ballon d’Or.

This was organised by France Football, a magazine owned by L'Equipe, responsible for dishing out the most lucrative individual award in football history.