Michael Jordan? Cristiano Ronaldo? Lionel Messi? Who would you say is the most famous athlete on the planet right now?

With many factors that could be used to determine this outcome such as social media followers or activity, we have used the website Ranker to find out who currently takes this crown.

Ranker is a free-to-use site that allows users to rank any person, object or country even. In this instance, GIVEMESPORT is using it to find the top 15 most famous athletes, but some other examples include: The funniest movies about ghosts, The best ice cream parlours, and famous renaissance artists, ranked.

So who are the top 15 most famous athletes on the planet right now?

15 Novak Djokovic

Kicking off the countdown is the Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic. Over the past few years, the 35-year-old has been winning Grand Slams left, right, and centre. Despite losing the Wimbledon final to Carlos Alcaraz at the start of July, Djokovic has conquered men's tennis since Roger Federer retired and Rafael Nadal started suffering injury problems.

This isn't to say that he wasn't successful before the pair left the world stage, he certainly was. Becoming tagged together as "The Big Three" sometimes adapted to four to include Andy Murray.

14 Rafael Nadal

Remaining with tennis, Rafael Nadal is up next. From 2005-2022, the Spaniard won 22 Grand Slams, including 14 of them at the French Open. Nadal's love for the clay court led to unprecedented success on one particular surface, holding the record for the longest single-surface winning streak of 81.

As mentioned above, the 36-year-old struggled in 2023 with a hip issue leading to him dropping out of the top 100 for the first time since 2003. This unfortunately led to him giving up the chance to retain his Australian Open and French Open titles with Djokovic winning both.

13 Tiger Woods

One of the greatest golfers of all time is next in Tiger Woods. He remains the youngest player to win the golf Grand Slam, at the age of 24 in 2000. Since then, he has won the same award twice becoming only the second golfer to achieve that feat after Jack Nicklaus.

Other awards Woods has won include 15 professional major golf championships and 81 PGA Tour events. Outside of golf, Woods earned the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2019, becoming the fourth golf player to be awarded that honour.

12 Serena Williams

The most successful women's tennis player of all time. Serena alongside her sister Venus dominated the women's tennis landscape until the former's retirement in 2022. Winning 30 Grand Slams between them, the younger of the two claimed 23.

Away from the tennis court, Williams has racked up titles such as: 'Laureus Sportswoman of the Year' in 2003, 2010, 2016, and 2018, Sports Illustrated's Sportsperson of the Year in 2015, and was the only female to make Forbes' 100 richest athletes list in 2017.

11 John Cena

Cena initially made his name in the WWF/E (World Wrestling Foundation), becoming the most recognisable member of the organisation. While he has won multiple awards in WWE, becoming the world champion 16 times is the most impressive.

The 45-year-old has certainly expanded his repertoire away from the world of WWE, even appearing in the new 'Barbie' movie. This isn't his first venture into Hollywood with Cena starring in films such as Ferdinand, Trainwreck, and Bumblebee.

10 Conor McGregor

The Irishman has worked wonders to market the sport of UFC and in turn, become the most famous mixed martial arts fighter of all time. McGregor has been the featherweight and lightweight champion during his MMA career.

The 34-year-old is more well known for his often controversial and antagonising personality, often coming out with the perfect quote for journalists and UFC fans. McGregor has also opened a pub in his hometown of Dublin where Guinness is particularly popular.

9 Tom Brady

The first athlete to make the list from a purely American sport, Tom Brady has been the king of the NFL since he was drafted by the New England Patriots in 2000. Brady won six Super Bowls and four Super Bowl MVPs while in Foxborough, before heading south to Tampa Bay in 2019.

Quarterback Brady then became one of the few players to win the Lombardi Trophy for two different franchises. Alongside long-time teammate Rob Gronkowski, and at the age of 43, he guided the Buccaneers to their first Super Bowl victory since 2002.

8 Steph Curry

Over the past number of decades, the eyes and ears of the NBA have transcended from Michael Jordan to the late great Kobe Bryant and LeBron James and now onto Steph Curry. The Golden State Warrior has won three NBA Championships, been an NBA all-star on six occasions, and was named the league MVP twice.

The son of former NBA player Dell Curry also holds multiple records which include the most combined (with teammate Klay Thompson) three-pointers in a season, amassing 484 throughout the 2013-14 campaign.

7 Neymar

There's something about Brazilian footballers that just gets fans on their feet. Samba flair, 'Joga Bonito' or simply just fun, Neymar has often epitomised that for the duration of his career, especially while he was at Barcelona as part of an electric front three alongside Luis Suárez and Lionel Messi.

Neymar, though, has been criticised since his record-breaking transfer to PSG in the summer of 2017, with some supporters and pundits questioning his ambition. Ligue 1 can be seen as a less competitive league than La Liga, especially with PSG's financial dominance over its competitors.

6 Roger Federer

Completing Tennis' "Big Three", Roger Federer is more famous than both Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, according to Ranker. The Swiss native oozed class both on the court and now off it since his retirement in 2022, his appearance at this summer's Wimbledon showcased the respect that he has earned during his time in the sport.

He also shared a funny moment with Andy Murray after the Scotsman's first-round victory, but how could you not appreciate a man that amassed 20 Grand Slam titles and shares the same pedestal as Nadal and Djokovic?

5 Usain Bolt

The fastest man on the planet. Beijing 2008 and London 2012, Bolt wrote history in both Olympic Games by breaking the World Record twice. 9.69 seconds in China followed by 9.63 in London. Bolt also claimed a third 100m gold medal at the Rio Olympics in 2016.

On top of the Jamaican's feats in the 100m sprint, he achieved five other gold medals, another three in the 200m and two in the 4x100m relay. Bolt did venture into another sport infamously, making one brief appearance for A-League side Central Coast Mariners.

4 LeBron James

A basketball icon, LeBron James is the most famous active NBA player as he nears the end of a remarkable career. Playing for the Cleveland Cavaliers, Miami Heat, and now the LA Lakers, James has won four NBA titles, four NBA finals MVPs, and four league MVPs.

Outside the court, Forbes reported that James became the first active player to become a billionaire with the 38-year-old now holding a share in his beloved Premier League side Liverpool, as well as Serie A outfit AC Milan. Interestingly, James starred alongside John Cena in the 2015 movie Trainwreck.

3 Michael Jordan

In the words of the NBA, "By acclamation, Michael Jordan is the greatest basketball player of all time." As broadcasted by Netflix in their series "The Last Dance", showcasing Jordan's sixth and final NBA championship with the Chicago Bulls while also looking back at the rise of the franchise and MJ. The show magnifies the man and the player who achieved special things in the 'Windy City.'

MJ the brand is now recognisable across the globe with Jordan shoes becoming the centrepiece of it. It has since expanded to other forms of clothing such as jumpers, t-shirts, and caps, while even manufacturing PSG's kits for the last couple of seasons.

2 Cristiano Ronaldo

The penultimate athlete in this countdown is none other than Portuguese sensation Cristiano Ronaldo. Now in Saudi Arabia with Al-Nassr, Ronaldo has reached the twilight of his footballing career which has seen him claim multiple Champions Leagues, domestic titles in England, Spain, and Italy while winning the Ballon d'Or on five different occasions.

The only trophy that has eluded Ronaldo is the World Cup with his national team somewhat lacking the quality to reach the latter stages. However, Portugal did win the European Championships in 2016, shocking hosts France as Ronaldo, who had to come off injured, acted as an assistant manager from the touchline.

1 Lionel Messi

The debate between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo will never end, but in this instance, Messi has come out victorious, pipping his long-time rival to the accolade of 'The most famous athlete on the planet.' Messi, like Ronaldo has recently departed the football hub of Europe for an adventure in the USA with Inter Miami.

This has led to more comparisons between the two with arguments about which league is stronger. One thing, though, that Messi has that Ronaldo doesn't is a World Cup after Argentina's victory in Qatar, last December.