Lionel Messi 'most publicised sports star online', Virat Kohli is sixth on the list

Naomi Osaka is the highest ranked female athlete

Aug 11, 2021 03:56:00 AM | Article | Campaign India Team

Lionel Messi, who recently moved from FC Barcelona to Paris Saint-Germain, is the 'most publicised sports star online' according to a report from GolfSupport.com.

GolfSupport used Buzzsumo's database to identify how many articles were published online about the respective sports star. The top three consisted of LeBron James and Messi' new team-mate Neymar Jr.

Representing India on the top-20 is the men's cricket team captain Virat Kohli, who finds himself at number six.

The top female athlete on the list is Naomi Osaka, who is ranked number eight.

Rank	Sports Star	Sports	Number of Online Articles Published About Sports Star (July 2020 - June 2021)
1.	Lionel Messi	Football	490,632
2.	LeBron James	Basketball	216,268
3.	Neymar Jr	Football	171,406
4.	Cristiano Ronaldo	Football	145,042
5.	Tom Brady	American Football	140,153
6.	Virat Kohli	Cricket	127,797
7.	Conor McGregor	Mixed Martial Arts	105,880
8.	Naomi Osaka	Tennis	93,637
9.	Kevin Durant	Basketball	88,086
10.	Roger Federer	Tennis	75,823
11.	Khabib Nurmagomedov	Mixed Martial Arts	55,433
12.	Patrick Mahomes	American Football	45,126
13.	Lewis Hamilton	Formula 1	39,924
14.	Giannis Antetokounmpo	Basketball	34,229
15.	Serena Williams	Tennis	27,924
16.	Tyson Fury	Boxing	22,679
17.	Russell Westbrook	Basketball	20,631
18.	Anthony Joshua	Boxing	18,574
19.	Stephen Curry	Basketball	16,523
20.	Phil Mickelson	Golf	14,121