# The 16 Biggest Global Sports Icons of the 2010s

> Ten years when a footballer, a sprinter and a boxer were equally famous in places that watch none of them.

*By YPB Team · Published September 20, 2026 · https://youpick.best/ranking/the-16-biggest-global-sports-icons-of-the-2010s*

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## Current results (no votes yet)

1. **Cristiano Ronaldo** — score 1000/1000
   Won four Champions League titles in the decade and became the most followed person on the planet.
2. **Michael Phelps** — score 833/1000
   Finished with 23 Olympic golds after a final haul in Rio.
3. **Tom Brady** — score 778/1000
   Won four Super Bowls in the decade, including a 28-3 comeback.
4. **LeBron James** — score 714/1000
   Reached eight consecutive NBA Finals and won titles with three different franchises.
5. **Floyd Mayweather** — score 629/1000
   Topped the Forbes highest-paid athlete list four times and sold the decade's two biggest fights.
6. **Usain Bolt** — score 629/1000
   Defended both sprint titles at London 2012 and Rio 2016 before retiring.
7. **Lionel Messi** — score 555/1000
   Won four Ballon d'Or awards in the decade and left Barcelona as its record scorer.
8. **Stephen Curry** — score 555/1000
   Changed how basketball is played and won three titles with Golden State.
9. **Virat Kohli** — score 470/1000
   India's captain and the most watched batter of the decade.
10. **Conor McGregor** — score 370/1000
   Held two UFC titles at once and then boxed Mayweather in the decade's second-biggest fight.
11. **Simone Biles** — score 370/1000
   Won four golds in Rio and redefined what a gymnastics routine could contain.
12. **Lewis Hamilton** — score 370/1000
   Won five Formula 1 titles in the decade and became its most recognisable driver.
13. **Neymar** — score 370/1000
   The most expensive transfer in football history and a fixture of global advertising.
14. **Serena Williams** — score 252/1000
   Won twelve of her twenty-three major singles titles during the decade.
15. **Roger Federer** — score 252/1000
   Came back from injury at 35 to win the 2017 Australian Open and Wimbledon.
16. **Manny Pacquiao** — score 0/1000
   A world champion and a sitting senator in the Philippines at the same time.

Tags: sports, celebrities, 2010s, athletes