Messi among top three athletes of 21st century

Cristiano Ronaldo stands 13th in the list, the second and only other footballer in the top 20.

Nine other football players appear in the top 100 are Thierry Henry (48th), Zinedine Zidane (50th), Luka Modric (55th), Kylian Mbappe (65th), Andres Iniesta (70th), Xavi (75th), Ronaldo De Lima (87th), Ronaldinho (94th) and Zlatan Ibrahimovic (95th).

The list is based on the success and influence of the athletes since the start of the 21st century.

Messi wins the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. Photo by Reuters

According to ESPN, Messi winning the 2022 World Cup with Argentina is the biggest Hollywood ending that football has ever seen. The sports channel quoted Ronaldo De Lima as saying: “Messi surpasses all opponents, even the rivalry between Brazil and Argentina. I see people in Brazil and all over the world supporting Messi. That is a fitting ending for an era of a genius.”

ESPN put Michael Phelps at number one for his undisputed record of winning 28 Olympic medals, including 23 gold, with a record eight gold in one single Olympic Games, in Beijing 2008. Phelps is the most successful and decorated Olympian of all time.

In second place is Serena Williams, who has won a record 23 women’s singles Grand Slam and 365 victories at major tournaments. She won her 23rd Grand Slam, the Australian Open in 2017, while pregnant, but only announced it later. Serena believes she should have won more than 30 Grand Slams.

Former tennis star Roger Federer was sixth on the list of ESPN, who considered him the greatest male tennis player in history, even though he only won 20 Grand Slams. Novak Djokovic with 24 Grand Slams and Rafael Nadal with 22, ranked 11th and 12th.

ESPN’s top 20 athletes of the 21st century:

1. Michael Phelps, swimming

2. Serena Williams, tennis

3. Lionel Messi, football

4. LeBron James, basketball

5. Tom Brady, football

6. Roger Federer, tennis

7. Simone Biles, fitness

8. Tiger Woods, golf

9. Usain Bolt, athletics

10. Kobe Bryant, basketball

11. Novak Djokovic, tennis

12. Rafael Nadal, tennis

13. Cristiano Ronaldo, soccer

14. Stephen Curry, basketball

15. Katie Ledecky, swimming

16. Tim Duncan, basketball

17. Shaquille O’Neal, basketball

18. Patrick Mahomes, football

19. Lewis Hamilton, F1

20. Aaron Donald, rugby