The 100 best pro athletes of the 21st century named and ranked with the No.1 pick very controversial
The 100 best athletes of the 21st century across all sports have been named and ranked.
ESPN received votes from over 70,000 contributors to create a top 100 list, which is full of immediately recognisable names from across the world of sport.
The likes of Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Tiger Woods, Usain Bolt and Serena Williams all rank highly in the list, with the quintet achieving near unparalleled success in their respective sports.
Seven American athletes made the top 10, with basketball legend Kobe Bryant in 10th place.
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Sprinting icon Bolt, who holds world records in 100 and 200 metres, was placed in ninth.
He is behind Woods, who dominated golf during the late 1990s and 2000s and is joint first for the most PGA Tour wins in history.
Gymnastics icon Simone Biles is 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 is awarded to Messi, who is now playing in the States with Inter Miami.
Serena Williams, who won 23 Grand Slam tennis singles titles, is in second.
But the number one choice, according to ESPN contributors, is Michael Phelps.
The US swimmer won an astonishing 28 Olympic gold medals during his career, which spanned across five Games between 2000 and 2016.
Meanwhile, tennis legends Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal narrowly miss out on the top 10 and are placed in 11th and 12th respectively.
Cristiano Ronaldo is 13th, while Lewis Hamilton is ranked at number 19.
Boxing icon Floyd Mayweather is in 25th, while Michael Schumacher - who is tied with Lewis Hamilton (seven) for most F1 world titles - is at 29.
Further down the list, Arsenal and France legend Thierry Henry is in 48th, with Aitana Bonmati and Zinedine Zidane rounding out the top 50.
Kylian Mbappe is in 65th position, while Ronaldo Nazario makes it into the top 100 in 87th place.
You can view ESPN's full list here.
Topics: ESPN, Olympics, Football, Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Lewis Hamilton, Serena Williams, Thierry Henry, Usain Bolt, Michael Schumacher
Nasir Jabbar