Cristiano Ronaldo has been named the most marketable athlete on the planet ahead of fellow footballers Lionel Messi, Alex Morgan and Sam Kerr.
The Portugal international, 37, is widely regarded as one of the greatest footballers of all time after representing the likes of Manchester United, Real Madrid and Juventus. He's lifted seven league titles, five Champions Leagues and Euro 2016 during his career.
One of Ronaldo's greatest strengths is his marketability. The veteran footballer is the most followed individual on Instagram - with only Instagram's official account boasting more followers - and has huge brand deals with the likes Nike, Herbalife, Clear and LiveScore.
SportsPro released their list of the 50 most marketable athletes on Monday morning, with Ronaldo topping the charts. It is the 13th year SportsPro have compiled the list, which helps companies decide on which athlete to hire as the face of their brand.
Ronaldo was named the most marketable athlete after commanding a 'marketability score' of 91.21 out of a possible 100. That puts him 'some distance' ahead of tennis legend Serena Williams in second and seven-time F1 world champion Lewis Hamilton in third.
The 2022 list is the most gender-diverse to date, with 22 women on the list. There are also four women in the top 10 and eight in the top 15. The rise of women's football is said to be a 'defining factor' in this, as Morgan and Kerr rank in eighth and ninth respectively.
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Footballers are thought to be the most marketable athletes on the planet, with 17 of them making the list. Tennis is the second most-represented sport after nine superstars were included. Sportswear manufacturer Nike, meanwhile, sponsor 22 of the 50 athletes.
In terms of the rest of the top 10, legendary basketballer LeBron James is fourth on the list - one place ahead of Messi in fifth. Tennis superstar Naomi Osaka is sixth and iconic cricketer Virat Kohli is seventh. NFL hero Tom Brady makes up the top 10.
"Who is the most marketable athlete on the planet today?" asked Michael Long, SportsPro's editorial director. "We at SportsPro have asked ourselves that very question every year since 2010, and each year the process of answering it provides a fascinating snapshot of the business of athlete marketing.
"Marketability can be defined in many ways, but what’s clear from our in-depth assessment is that each of the athletes in this year’s diverse list delivers considerable value to their brand partners.
"Not only are they elite, highly visible performers in their respective sports, their individual reach and influence and, in many cases, willingness to speak out on social issues positions them as ideal ambassadors for companies seeking to communicate authentically to consumers."
SportsPro's list is in partnership with NorthStar Solutions Group. Their president Chris Collins added: "NorthStar is excited to present this year’s 50 Most Marketable Athletes list.
"SportsPro and associated partners have a long-standing history of providing compelling, insightful and thought-provoking content around athlete marketability and I’m honoured to be part of forwarding that tradition.
"I’m endlessly proud of our team here at NorthStar and thankful for the commitment and contributions of our partners at SportsPro, D-Tag Analytics, Zoomph and SponsorPulse who helped make the 2022 50 Most Marketable Athletes list possible.
"I am looking forward to the next couple of years as we continue our partnership with SportsPro and other interested partners to evolve the list and be at the forefront of the ever-changing conversation around athlete marketability."
