Whether a football fan or a football bettor at Allbets, you will certainly admit that not all footballers have the same reach and appeal to others and that there are some athletes that have that special something that distinguishes them from all other players.
It is a well known and acknowledged fact by now: football is creating stars and infamous, highly influential athletes who are worshiped, respected, copied, followed, admired and above all loved by fans and non-fans alike.
From the long-standing legends Diego Maradona and Pele to the more recent rising stars Phil Foden and Vinicius Junior, the sport of football has given us some of the world’s most favorite and popular players, becoming iconic figures for both fans and non-fans.
All time classic and more recent stars…
Just think of some names like Ronaldinho -who although a retiree, has made history in the world of football with his unique style and unprecedented technical skills, David Beckham – who has multiplied his fame and has driven his career upwards by his brilliant performance, managing to be both an on-field and an off-field superstar, Zinedine Zidane – the French hot-tempered footballer who has driven France towards wins and trophies, or Zlatan Ibrahimovi? – the Swedish footballer regarded as one of the best strikers of his time.
Present football stars include Lionel Messi – one of the best football players of all times, Neymar – the brazilian wonderboy, Harry Kane – the all time absolute striker of the Premier League and of course Cristiano Ronaldo -the Portuguese footballer and most probably the grand superstar of all football history.
So, what do all these stars – whose list presented here is certainly non-exhaustive – have in common? What is it that makes them stars? And what does being a football star mean?
Well, first of all, it is rather clear that all the star football players are in fact extremely skilled footballers, having recorded remarkable performances, exhibiting unique football styles and competencies and above all having a very strong appeal. They are versatile, highly capable, popular, flexible, good-looking (at least most of the time!) and they are incredibly popular amongst fans and non-fans. In fact, some footballers have turned their names into brands – Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are perfect examples of transforming their names into strong equity brands.
Footballers most searched on the web
With the advent of technology and with the information systems capabilities, we are now able to have more concrete evidence as to how popular and famous as well as how influential football stars are. Just consider that anyone can simply search online for his favorite football player and in this way add further to the star’s popularity. Measuring google searches, the absolute, indisputable leading star is Cristiano Ronaldo!
According to reports, the name “Cristiano Ronaldo” is being searched for nearly 11 million times each month! Just think that on average, every month, Ronaldo is searched by fans and non-fans on the internet approximately 11 million times, making the footballer, the ultimate superstar sports person and the most influential athlete of all. He is, by far, the player that accumulates the widespread interest from fans and this is clearly shown on the number of times that people search him on the web.
It is noticeable that the 37-year-old Portuguese Cristiano Ronaldo is not only in the top position, but he maintains a considerably large distance from the other footballers in the list of the most searched athletes. Neymar comes second with almost 5.8 million searches, while Lionel Messi comes third with nearly 4.5 million searches. Messi’s rank is rather surprising, given that for most of us Ronaldo and Messi are directly ‘competing’ each other when it comes to who is the best footballer and the most popular one, just like top clubs are competing with each other for the trophy! However, it seems that while Messi is receiving titles and awards along with Ronaldo, it is Ronaldo that is made into a popular, infamous, superstar athlete and a highly influential person.
It does not only take one to be a great footballer or exhibit an incredible performance to become a superstar… Some athletes have that ‘something’ that often goes beyond their football skills and capabilities and it is what makes others want to put them in that special place in their heart, which illustrates their ‘fame’ and popularity. Clearly, Cristiano Ronaldo is one such athlete, with an extreme appeal and an incomparable popularity.