ESPN revealed Thursday a ranking with the top 100 professional athletes since 2000, with Lionel Messi making the podium as the Argentine ace was ranked higher than other legends such as LeBron James, Tom Brady, and Cristiano Ronaldo.
The Inter Miami star, who “completed” soccer by lifting the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, is only behind two athletes in ESPN‘s ranking: iconic swimmer Michael Phelps and tennis superstar Serena Williams.
Of course, the ranking has given plenty to talk about on social media, as not many agreed with the order of these athletes. However, Messi fans were happy with the fact ESPN placed the soccer star above many other legends.
LeBron and Brady are just behind Messi, and while Cristiano Ronaldo was not even included among the top 10, the Portuguese star was ranked one place higher than Stephen Curry.
Many of these athletes are still active, so we’ll have to wait and see whether this ranking should require even more updates when it’s all said and done for some legends. Either way, most of the names who appear on the list have made a strong case to be there. But of course, these kinds of lists are always polarizing.
ESPN’s top 100 athletes of the 21st century with Messi on the podium
- Michael Phelps – swimming
- Serena Williams – tennis
- Lionel Messi – soccer
- LeBron James – basketball
- Tom Brady – football
- Roger Federer – tennis
- Simone Biles – gymnastics
- Tiger Woods – golf
- Usain Bolt – track
- Kobe Bryant – basketball
- Novak Djokovic – tennis
- Rafael Nadal – tennis
- Cristiano Ronaldo – soccer
- Stephen Curry – basketball
- Katie Ledecky – swimming
- Tim Duncan – basketball
- Shaquille O’Neal – basketball
- Patrick Mahomes – football
- Lewis Hamilton – auto racing
- Aaron Donald – football
- Diana Taurasi – basketball
- Sidney Crosby – hockey
- Kevin Garnett – basketball
- Albert Pujols – baseball
- Floyd Mayweather – boxing
- Peyton Manning – football
- Randy Moss – football
- Nikola Jokic – basketball
- Michael Schumacher – auto racing
- Mike Trout – baseball
- Clayton Kershaw – baseball
- Marta – soccer
- Miguel Cabrera – baseball
- Tamika Catchings – basketball
- Dwyane Wade – basketball
- Maya Moore – basketball
- Ichiro Suzuki – baseball
- Barry Bonds – baseball
- Kevin Durant – basketball
- Justin Verlander – baseball
- Dirk Nowitzki – basketball
- Giannis Antetokounmpo – basketball
- Alex Rodriguez – baseball
- Mikaela Shiffrin – skiing
- David Ortiz – baseball
- Max Scherzer – baseball
- Jimmie Johnson – auto racing
- Thierry Henry – soccer
- Aitana Bonmati – soccer
- Zinedine Zidane – soccer
- Steve Nash – basketball
- Adrian Beltré – baseball
- Derek Jeter – baseball
- Alex Ovechkin – hockey
- Luka Modric – soccer
- Alexia Putellas – soccer
- Calvin Johnson – football
- J.J. Watt – football
- Mariano Rivera – baseball
- Candace Parker – basketball
- Ray Lewis – football
- Shohei Ohtani – baseball
- Allyson Felix – track
- Mia Hamm – soccer
- Kylian Mbappé – soccer
- Jon Jones – MMA
- James Harden – basketball
- Phil Mickelson – golf
- Jason Kidd – basketball
- Andrés Iniesta – soccer
- Manny Pacquiao – boxing
- Shaun White – snowboarding
- Mookie Betts – baseball
- Lisa Leslie – basketball
- Xavi Hernandez – soccer
- Georges St-Pierre – MMA
- Shelly-Ann Fraser Pryce – track
- Bernard Hopkins – boxing
- Bryce Harper – baseball
- Andy Murray – tennis
- Sheryl Swoopes – basketball
- Kohei Uchimura – gymnastics
- Chris Paul – basketball
- Lauren Jackson – basketball
- Kawhi Leonard – basketball
- Venus Williams – tennis
- Ronaldo Nazário – soccer
- Roy Halladay – baseball
- Annika Sorenstam – golf
- A’ja Wilson – basketball
- Aaron Rodgers – football
- Pedro Martinez – baseball
- Rory McIlroy – golf
- Ronaldinho – soccer
- Zlatan Ibrahimović – soccer
- Darrelle Revis – football
- Virat Kohli – cricket
- Connor McDavid – hockey
- Ed Reed – football
- Charles Woodson – football
