The Transfermarkt stats show Cristiano Ronaldo is more popular than Lionel Messi
Who claims top spot?
©TM/IMAGO
The end of 2025 is approaching on the horizon and it’s been another action-packed year in football. While there’s been no major international tournament with the World Cup to be played next summer, there’s been some major stories. PSG won their first ever Champions League trophy after dismantling Inter Milan in the final and Ousmane Dembélé was rewarded with the Ballon d’Or.
Liverpool equalled Manchester United’s record for most English top-flight titles (20) before breaking the transfer record for the most money spent in a single window. Bayern Munich reclaimed their Bundesliga dominance, Barcelona secured the bragging rights over Real Madrid and Napoli won the Scudetto. Billions of people from all around the world visited Transfermarkt across the calendar year and we’ve revealed which players had the most viewed profiles.
The most viewed player profiles on Transfermarkt in 2025
We’ve compiled the data across every single Transfermarkt domain to provide the totals and Cristiano Ronaldo takes top spot. It’s not been a vintage year for the 40-year-old with Al-Nassr failing to win major silverware but Ronaldo is the definition of a global superstar. It was a better individual year for Lionel Messi with the Argentina captain leading Inter Miami to the MLS Cup and he ranks second. As the graphic below illustrates, Lamine Yamal completes the top three with the Barcelona starlet already one of the most recognisable players on the planet at 18.
Victor Osimhen is the only non-European or South American player in the top ten with his permanent move to Galatasaray a major factor behind ranking fourth. Alongside Yamal, Kylian Mbappé and Erling Haaland are the joint most valuable players in the world at €200m and both feature in the top ten. Germany and Brazil have the most players in the top 20 list with three apiece.
