SportsPro released its annual ranking of the most marketable athletes in the world, with Erling Haaland overtaking Cristiano Ronaldo as the world's most marketable soccer player in 2026. Haaland was fourth in the rankings and was the only soccer player inside the top 10.
Top of the rankings and soccer positions
According to SportsPro, Aryna Sabalenka topped the 2026 rankings. Ronaldo was the second highest ranked soccer player in 14th. Kylian Mbappé and Vinícius Júnior were ranked 19th and 20th respectively, Lamine Yamal was 23rd, Neymar was 24th, and Lionel Messi was 27th.
Women's soccer entries
According to SportsPro, Alessia Russo was the most marketable women's soccer player in the world and was ranked 29th. Alexia Putellas was ranked 47th, and Aitana Bonmatí was ranked 59th.
Other soccer names and total count
According to SportsPro, Alphonso Davies was ranked 34th and was the only North American men's soccer player included in the top 150. Harry Kane was ranked 45th, and Thomas Müller was ranked 58th. SI said that, with Russo and Putellas included, 11 total soccer players feature inside the top 50 on the list. SI also said the rankings include 150 athletes.
Scoring model and data window
SportsPro said its marketability score out of 100 is built "from three composite pillars: Brand Equity (45), Momentum (40) and Commercial Trajectory (15)." According to SportsPro, the 2026 rankings were from data collected on over 1,000 athletes from July 1, 2025 to June 30, 2026.
