The 100 best pro athletes of the 21st century named and ranked with No.1 pick very controversial

The top 100 professional athletes of the 21st century across all sports have been ranked, and the number one could cause a huge debate.

Over the years, we have seen some great athletes from different sports, including the likes of Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Tiger Woods, Usain Bolt and Serena Williams.

The above-mentioned stars have all achieved great things during their illustrious careers.

Back in 2024, ESPN decided to settle the debate once and for all and received votes from over 70,000 contributors to create a top 100 list, which is full of immediately recognisable athletes from across the globe.

Seven of the top 10 were made up of Americans, with NBA legend Kobe Bryant kicking off at 10th place.

Bryant was followed by sprinting great Bolt, who is the current world record holder in both the 100m and 200m.

In eighth place was golf superstar Woods, who dominated the sport during the late 1990s and 2000s and is joint first for the most PGA Tour wins in history.

Gymnastics icon Simone Biles was ranked in seventh place, with her 11 Olympic gold medals the most by a female gymnast.

Tennis legend Roger Federer, NFL icon Tom Brady and NBA star LeBron James were sixth, fifth and fourth, respectively.

Third place went to football legend Messi, who is currently playing for MLS side Inter Miami.

Serena Williams, who won 23 Grand Slam tennis singles titles, was placed in second.

The greatest athlete of the 21st century, according to ESPN, was Michael Phelps.

The US swimmer won an astonishing 28 Olympic gold medals during his career, which spanned across five Games between 2000 and 2016.

Michael Phelps is a true sporting legend. Image: Getty

Meanwhile, tennis legends Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal narrowly miss out on the top 10 and were placed in 11th and 12th, respectively.

Ronaldo was 13th, while Lewis Hamilton was ranked at number 19.

Boxing icon Floyd Mayweather was 25th, while Michael Schumacher - who is tied with Hamilton (seven) for most F1 world titles - was in 29th place.

Further down the list, Arsenal and France legend Thierry Henry placed 48th, with Aitana Bonmati and Zinedine Zidane rounding out the top 50.

Current Real Madrid star Kylian Mbappe ranked 65th, with Brazilian great Ronaldo Nazario making it into the top 100 in 87th place.

You can view ESPN's full list here.