Revealed: Online data reveals the most publicised sports stars in the world!

Interested in sports coverage, GolfSupport.com analysed the latest data from online analytics tool Buzzsumo to establish which currently active sports stars in the world have been the most publicised online in the past year (July 2020 – June 2021).

The Results for the Research

Analysis of Results for the Research

• Lionel Messi is the most published sports star online, with an estimated 490,632 online articles written about the sublime Barcelona and Argentina centre-forward in the past 12 months – the equivalent of 40,886 online articles a month!
• In second place is Basketball icon LeBron James, approximately 216,268 online articles were published about the Los Angeles Lakers small forward between July 2020 to June 2021
• Neymar Jr (171,406), Cristiano Ronaldo (145,042) and Tom Brady (140,153) are among the other sports superstars that have had more than 140,000 online articles written about them from July 2020 to June 2021
• Interestingly, Naomi Osaka is the highest-ranking female in the list in eighth position, as there were approximately 93,637 online articles published about the young tennis sensation between July 2020 to June 2021
• Seven-time Formula 1 champion Lewis Hamilton is in 13th place, as the dynamic driver had an estimated 39,924 online articles published about him from July 2020 to June 2021

Methodology for the Research

• GolfSupport.com identified from reputable sources such as Forbes the biggest names/players from a range of sports that included the likes of football, tennis, cricket, golf, formula 1, boxing, mixed martial arts and more.
• Once a comprehensive list of sports stars was drawn up, GolfSupport.com inserted each star’s name into the Buzzsumo database to identify how many articles were published online about that respective sports star.
• July 2020 to June 2021 time frame was used because it represents a 12-month period for conclusive analysis and June 2021 was the last available month for the latest data published by Buzzsumo.
• Once the number of online articles published (from July 2020 to June 2021) for each sports star were established, they were ranked from highest to lowest based on the number of online articles published, with the top 20 sport stars included in the final presented results/data table.
• GolfSupport.com did take into account the different ways in which online articles are published, with some articles opting to use only the surname of a sports player in their article or abbreviated version of a sports player’s name in their article e.g. ‘Lionel Messi’, ‘L Messi’ and ‘Messi’ (all variations of the same name).
• The figure for the number of online articles published for each sports star in the list are all estimates/approximates and only accounts for online articles from around the world.

Comment on the Research

Stefan Balkenende, a spokesperson from Livefootballtickets.com commented on the research by GolfSupport.com

“For many of us, sports stars bring us a huge amount of joy from the shear dedication and high-performance levels they put into the respective sports they are dominant in. In doing so, creating many iconic moments, and cementing their legacy as one the best competitors in their respective sports. Undoubtedly their talent and constant desire to compete/win at the highest level, draws them a lot of attention from fans and the media alike. This research provides an invaluable insight into the most publicised sports stars in the world, with some expected as well as unexpected results”.