Maradona, chosen as the most popular athlete in history.

A British media chose Diego as the most famous figure in the world of sports. He looks at the full top and the position of Messi.

Diego Armando Maradona is one of the most important figures not only in the world of football, but also in sports throughout its history. The emblem of the Argentine National Team, world champion in 1986, is a global icon and, just over a thousand days after his death, he has just been chosen as the most popular athlete in all of history.

This was chosen by the British media Givemesport, which released a top 15 with the most famous athletes of all time. “ Defending that Maradona is the most popular athlete in all of history is not that difficult . His scoring record does not come close to that of Messi, Ronaldo or Pelé, with 338 goals in just over 600 games. But if we incorporate the traditional 'eye test', Maradona is the king”, the portal wrote when presenting the Argentine in first place.

“His ability to dribble and turn a game around in an instant is what makes him so great. His goal against England in the 1986 World Cup is the best example. To say that he was the Argentine soccer player of the year four times, twice winner of the Scudetto with Napoli and champion of the World Cup with Argentina is only adding more arguments. Look how adored he is in Naples and in Argentina. He is the most popular athlete!” the outlet added.

In any case, the list published by the website gave something to talk about, especially because of the positions of other stars. Behind Maradona are Michael Jordan and Pelé, respectively . But the first surprise comes in fourth place, which belongs to Babe Ruth , who is considered the best baseball player in all of history, but who ranks above other legends such as Larry Bird, Roger Federer or Lionel Messi himself .

The current Inter Miami player was in seventh place in the ranking, far from what could be expected from a figure of his caliber . "Like Ronaldo (ranked 15th), many soccer fans will be furious that Messi is ranked seventh given his football achievements and the heavy weight of his name. Who doesn't know the name Lionel Messi?" , the presentation of La Pulga begins.

"A seven-time Ballon d'Or winner with Barcelona and a 12-time league title winner with the Blaugrana and PSG, he has won it all. His leading role in Argentina's World Cup triumph in Qatar has arguably placed ahead of Ronaldo and has emulated the achievements of the great Diego Maradona.With 1,032 appearances to his credit and 814 goals, Messi now demonstrates his talents in the United States with Inter Miami: he recently won the Leagues Cup and scored 10 goals in just seven matches", ends his description.

Beyond Leo's position, another thing that has caused controversy has been the positions of Usain Bolt - winner of eight Olympic gold medals -, Muhammad Ali - the best heavyweight boxer in history - and the absence of Michael Phelps , the top gold medal winner in Olympic Games history. Below is the complete list.

The top of the most popular athletes in history.

1) Diego Maradona (soccer)

2) Michael Jordan (basketball)

3) Pele (soccer)

4) Babe Ruth (baseball)

5) Larry Bird (basketball)

6) Roger Federer (tennis)

7) Lionel Messi (soccer)

8) Wayne Gretzky (ice hockey)

9) Sir Donald Bradman (Australian cricketer)

10) LeBron James (basketball)

11) Tom Brady (American football)

12) Usain Bolt (athletics)

13) Serena Williams (tennis)

14) Muhammad Ali (boxing)

15) Cristiano Ronaldo (soccer)

Source images: Olè.