Cristiano Ronaldo vs Lionel Messi: Man United icon beats PSG star as most marketable athlete for 2022

SportsPro released their list of the 50 most marketable athletes for 2022 on Monday, and Manchester United icon Cristiano Ronaldo topped the charts with arch-rival and Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) star Lionel Messi placed at fifth spot.

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They are two of the biggest names in world football, and the rivalry between Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi extends beyond the playing field. Although the Manchester United icon's form in the ongoing season has not been as glittering as the Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) star, the Portuguese talisman has beaten the latter as 2022's most marketable athlete.

In a list of the 50 most marketable athletes for 2022 released by SportsPro, Ronaldo has topped the chart. The 37-year-old, who recently scored his 700th club career goal against Everton in last week's 2-1 win at Goodison Park, has a marketability score of 91.21 out of a possible 100.

Meanwhile, Messi, who has scored 7 goals for PSG across competitions this campaign, has a marketability score of 53.27 out of a possible 100. What's interesting to note is that although the Portuguese icon was Manchester United's leading goalscorer last season, the number of 'Messi 30' shirts sold in the Argentinian legend's first season with the Parisian club was far more than Ronaldo's iconic CR7 shirts.

When determining the list, SportsPro ranked the athletes on their 'Marketability Score,' which consisted of three distinct scoring components: brand strength, economics and audience. Ronaldo wasn't the only athlete ahead of Messi, as legendary American tennis star Serena Williams, seven-time Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton, and LA Lakers icon LeBron James finished in front of the PSG star in the ranking.

SportsPro’s 50 Most Marketable Athletes 2022  – the top ten:

1. Cristiano Ronaldo, Football, Portugal, 37
2. Serena Williams, Tennis, USA, 41
3. Lewis Hamilton, Formula One, Great Britain, 37
4. LeBron James, Basketball, USA, 37
5. Lionel Messi, Football, Argentina, 35
6. Naomi Osaka, Tennis, Japan, 25
7. Virat Kohli, Cricket, India, 33
8. Alex Morgan, Football, USA, 33
9. Sam Kerr, Football, Australia, 29
10. Tom Brady, NFL, USA, 45

"Who is the most marketable athlete on the planet today?' asked Michael Long, SportsPro's editorial director. "We at SportsPro have asked ourselves that very question every year since 2010, and each year the process of answering it provides a fascinating snapshot of the business of athlete marketing. Marketability can be defined in many ways, but what's clear from our in-depth assessment is that each of the athletes in this year's diverse list delivers considerable value to their brand partners," he noted.

With the Qatar World Cup 2022 just over a month away, all eyes will be on both Ronaldo and Messi as the Portugal talisman, and Argentina captain will look to clinch their maiden World Cup title. While the 37-year-old legend confirmed that he hopes to fire Portugal also to a win in the Euro 2024, the seven-time Ballon d'Or stated that the upcoming showpiece event in the Middle East would be his last outing for his country at the tournament. It would be interesting to see if their marketability score changes once they return to their respective clubs after football's biggest spectacular comes to an end on December 18.