Man, Pele is the most famous athlete obviously. Just because YOU dont know about a guy does not mean billions of others do. :yep :smoke
muhammed ali is the most famous sportsman in history period.no other athlete has drawn the attention he has in the history of sport.he trandscends his sport like no other athlete ever.even today well after his carreer is over,he is known by all and in any country in the world.the next most recognized worldwide would have to be pele.
The americans live in their bubble. I see it every day since I emigrated here. They have no concept that the sports they hold dear are considered **** by the rest of the world. Jordan and co are unheard of compared to many soccer players and cricketers.
Why do the Americans keep bringing up NBA players and **** as worldwide famous athletes?! It's only famous in America it barely gets televised anywhere else. English Football is the most famous sport and has many more famous players than any American sports.
im willing to go out on a limb here.... Rocky! Rocky! Rocky! Rocky! Rocky! Rocky! Rocky! Rocky! Rocky! Rocky! Rocky! Rocky! Rocky! Rocky! Rocky! Rocky! Rocky! Rocky! Rocky! Rocky! Rocky! Rocky! Rocky! Rocky! Rocky! Rocky! Rocky! Rocky! Rocky! Rocky! Rocky! Rocky! Rocky!
In terms of popularity, within pro soccer we all think Maradona was superior to Pele. It is Pele's goals record that attracts such attention from people than dont really know the game, Maradona was the much better player and i do believe in even edges the popularity vote too.
i dont know as far as the world goes but in the uk henry cooper and frank bruno were loved loads and joe bugner was hated for beating cooper!!!
I think Ali edges Michael Jordan in fame historically speaking. You must remember that Jordan is a very recent sportsman (It´s not so long ago he was still competing) so more people might know who he is right now - but that´s not the same thing. Ali is more historical, because of the Vietnam case and such, so he will be better remembered in history.