Cristiano Ronaldo, Lebron James Top List of 25 Best-Known Athletes In 2017

As the year 2017 winds down, considering the popularity of athletes, Portugal International Cristiano Ronaldo topped the ranking, and followed by American NBA player LeBron James and Barcelona Lionel Messi in second and third position in the list of best known athletes compiled by ESPN.
The list was compiled by the Sport channel director of analytics Ben Alamar, who used criteria such as salary, internet search popularity, endorsements and followership on social media to work out the ranking of athletes in top 25.

LeBron James tops in second position

Also making the list is 23-time Grand Slam winning athletes Serena Williams, Russia ace Maria Sharapova and India cricket player Virat Kholi.
See full EPSN's 2017 List of 25 Best Known Athletes below:
1. Cristiano Ronaldo    Football
2. LeBron James          Basketball
3. Lionel Messi            Football
4. Roger Federer          Tennis
5. Phil Michelson         Golf
6. Neymar Jr.                Football
7. Usain Bolt                Track

Roger Federer tops amongst tennis players in EPSN best known athletes in the year 2017

8. Kevin Durant            Basketball
9. Rafal Nadal               Tennis
10. Tiger Woods           Golf
11. Stephen Curry         Basketball
12. Novak Djokovic      Tennis
13. Virat Kohli              Cricket

Phil Michelson

14. Rory McIlroy           Golf
15. MS Dhoni                Cricket
16. Ronda Rousey         MMA
17. Kei Nishikori           Golf
18. Kaka                         Football
19. Serena Williams      Tennis
20. Kei Nishikori           Tennis
21. Tom Brady               NFL
22. Gareth Bale              Football
23. Maria Sharapova     Tennis
24. Dwyane Wade         Basketball    
25. Conor McGregor     MMA/Boxing