Real Madrid star Ronaldo most popular athlete in world

Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo is the most popular athlete in the world - according to Facebook. Statistics released yesterday show Ronaldo ahead of the likes of Tiger Woods, Kobe Bryant, Michael Phelps and David Beckham in terms of Facebook friends.

The former Manchester United ace has 3,203,258 friends, with tennis star Roger Federer boasting 3,183,681 and American swimmer Michael Phelps 2,232,551.

In terms of football, the next best is LA Galaxy's David Beckham, with 2,491,873, while Barcelona favourite Lionel Messi has 1,901,827.