Cristiano Ronaldo beats Lionel Messi, Sachin Tendulkar to be named most-admired sportsperson in the world

Football icon Cristiano Ronaldo has been named the most-admired sportsperson in the world ahead of his arch-rival Lionel Messi. Both Ronaldo and Messi enjoy a staggering fan following across the globe and are unarguably two of the most popular and successful athletes of the current generation. The duo has dominated world football for over a decade now and has enjoyed a great rivalry between them.

Ronaldo pipped Messi to take the 4th spot on the list of most admired male personalities in the world. The Argentine legend finished at the seventh spot. Former United States President Barack Obama has been named the most admired male in the world followed by Bill Gates and Xi Jinping.

The list has been prepared after a survey conducted by YouGov, a British market research and data analytics firm. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is placed eighth on the list of most-admired men in the world at present.

Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli only behind Messi, Ronaldo

Cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar is the third-most admired sportsperson in the world behind only two of football's greatest icons - Messi and Ronaldo. Tendulkar is regarded as one of the greatest batters of all time and is often credited to have made a national fall in love with the game with his heroics on the field.

Tendulkar continues to hold the record for most runs in international cricket which is unlikely to be broken anytime soon and is also the only batter in the world with hundred international centuries to his name. India's current Test captain Virat Kohli is the 4th most-admired sportsperson in the world.

Also Read: All selectors put together have not played half the number of matches Virat Kohli has: Ex-India all-rounder

Kohli is counted among the modern-day greats and is one of the most popular cricketers in the world. He has been a consistent performer for the Indian team across formats and has already achieved numerous milestones and records in what has been an illustrious career so far. Kohli is also the most followed cricketer on social media.

Here is a look at the top 20 most admired male personalities in the world:

1. Barack Obama

2. Bill Gates

3. Xi Jinping

4. Cristiano Ronaldo

5. Jackie Chan

6. Elon Musk

7. Lionel Messi

8. Narendra Modi

9. Vladimir Putin

10. Jack Ma

11. Warren Buffet

12. Sachin Tendulkar

13. Donald Trump

14. Shahrukh Khan

15. Amitabh Bachchan

16. Pope Francis

17. Imran Khan

18. Virat Kohli

19. Andy Lau

20. Joe Biden