“We all know Ronaldo is finished”- Fans mock Cristiano Ronaldo as he finishes below Bukayo Saka in the most marketable athletes list

Cristiano Ronaldo has been placed 27th, while Lionel Messi took pole position.

“We all know Ronaldo is finished”- Fans mock Cristiano Ronaldo as he finishes below Bukayo Saka in the most marketable athletes list

Bukayo Saka ranked just a spot above Cristiano Ronaldo (Image via Goal and Reuters)

Cristiano Ronaldo is one of the best footballers to play the game. One of the most popular ones out there, he is regarded as an icon for many. He also has the most Instagram followers, with 621 million. Despite all this, he ranks 27 in SportsPro’s “Most Marketable Athletes of 2023.”

The sports media house recently released their top 50 most marketable athletes, with Lionel Messi being at the top. Behind him are LeBron James, Alex Morgan, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Megan Rapinoe, all based in the United States. 

YouTube video

While many expected Cristiano Ronaldo to be within the top 10, he was ranked 27 instead. Footballers who finished ahead of him were Kylian Mbappe, Lucy Bronze, Robert Lewandowski, Leah Williamson, Alphonso Davies, Harry Kane, Beth Mead, Alexia Putellas and Bukayo Saka. 

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SportsPro put footballers like Neymar, Luis Suarez, Erling Haaland, Thiago Silva, Son Heung-Min, Mohamed Salah, Marcus Rashford, Mapi Leon and Sam Kerr in the top 50. The list consists of many famous motorsport athletes, tennis stars, basketball athletes and a few athletes from other sports. 

Fans give mixed reaction as Cristiano Ronaldo is declared as the 27th most marketable footballer 

When fans saw the top 50 list, many were not happy with Cristiano Ronalso being ranked so low. They asked how one of the most popular footballers was rated so low. Many expected it to happen, now that the star was 39-years old and in Saudi Arabia. One said his value had dropped due to his miss against Al Ain on Monday night. 

Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo is the face of the Saudi Pro League (Image via Goal)

Check out the reactions here:

https://twitter.com/CarlosBillions1/status/1768000617711054984?s=20
https://twitter.com/ZtnBlanco/status/1767994083467821557?s=20

Ronaldo’s market value has been dropping ever since he left Manchester United in January 2023. During his final season at the club, he struggled to score goals and had a massive falling out with Erik Ten Hag, calling him out in an interview with Piers Morgan. 

Along with moving to Saudi Arabia and him getting older, his value was bound to dip down. Despite this, he is still one of the most popular athletes in the world, with his move to the SPL making it a topic for many people. 

Ronaldo now gets ready to face Al Ahli on the night of 15th March. The club is 2nd in the SPL, with a chance at the title looking more and more unlikely. They still have a chance to win the Saudi Super Cup, facing Al Hilal in the semi-finals. 

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