Cristiano Ronaldo news: Juventus star pips Lionel Messi to be ranked as the world's most admired athlete

What's the story?

YouGov, a British international Internet-based market research and data analytics firm, recently released its annual list of World's most admired public figures. According to the same, it's revealed that Cristiano Ronaldo is much more admired across the globe than his arch-rival Lionel Messi.

In case you didn't know...

Both Ronaldo and Messi are two of the most admired footballers in the world, with the Portuguese also being the most followed athlete on social media.

For years the Messi-Ronaldo debate has been raging on dividing fans across the world for the last decade or so but to no avail. They remain unstoppable even though both of them are more than 30 years old.

But there's one thing most people tend to agree upon, and that's the fact that the Barcelona captain is the more naturally gifted of the pair while Ronaldo is said to be the one a superior work ethic.

The heart of the matter...

Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi just keep getting the better of each other on the pitch during the regular seasons, but off the pitch as well their rivalry continues.

According to data from YouGov's international survey, Ronaldo is the world's most admired athlete and only behind the likes of Bill Gates, Barack Obama and Jackie Chan in the list of public figures.

In December YouGov gathered open-ended nominations from panellists across 41 countries, asking them directly: “Thinking about people alive in the world today, which [man or woman] do you most admire?” and used the data to compile the results and come to a conclusion.

Worlds Most Admired 2019. Our annual series, conducted this year in 41 countries, finds the most admired figures are:Woman1. Michelle Obama (+1)2. Oprah Winfrey (+1)3. Angelina Jolie (-2)Man1. Bill Gates (-)2. Barack Obama (-)3. Jackie Chan (-)https://t.co/hY0K2Vf8F9 pic.twitter.com/54m4A3H9hu

— YouGov (@YouGov) July 18, 2019

Ronaldo was ranked seventh in the list, while Messi also made it into the Top 10 with the ninth most votes.

Interestingly the same data revealed that Messi topped the list as the most admired person in his home country Argentina. But Ronaldo was Portugal's fourth most admired person; this is despite the latter winning more trophies for his nation than the Argentine.

What's next?

Both the players remain hot favourites for winning a record sixth Ballon d'Or. Only time will tell which one of the player eventually emerges as the winner after missing out on the coveted honour for the first time since 2007.