Cristiano Ronaldo tops Pornhub's list of most searched footballers of 2019, Messi comes second
This is one game where Cristiano Ronaldo has aced super rival Lionel Messi.
The Insights team at adult streaming site Pornhub often throws up interesting statistics concerning what categories people from around the world gravitate to the most often, and this time around, they've managed to narrow down a list for the top 10 most searched footballers on their website. To what we assume is nobody's surprise, Juventus striker and Portuguese heartthrob Cristiano Ronaldo tops the list, a spot that he has reportedly maintained since Pornhub first looked at similar insights in 2015.
It's another honor he can add to the list, along with the umpteen other individual and team honors he has won across a decorated one-and-a-half decade career across some of the world's most prestigious leagues and competitions.
Anyone who follows the sport will know that Ronaldo is as competitive as it gets, and nothing epitomizes that more than his rivalry with Barcelona forward Lionel Messi.
The pair shared the field multiple times as they met each other in Spanish football's biggest rivalry, 'El Clasico,' and dominated football's most prestigious individual honor, the Ballon d'Or -- both have won the prize five times -- and there's little to separate them.
They've won it all on the field, and now it looks like they're vying for off-field honors as well. But it's Ronaldo who has come out on top of his Argentinian rival with the Pornhub list, with Messi placing second on the list.
Coming in at number 3 is also an Argentinian: Inter Milan striker Mauro Icardi. Icardi has found life difficult at the club since his public fall out with the manager, his teammates, and practically the whole hierarchy earlier this year, but it looks like he's lost none of his popularity, at least on the adult site.
At number 4 is Chilean and Machester United forward Alexis Sanchez, another one who has had less than a fruitful year on the pitch, with France and Paris Saint-Germain striker Kylian Mbappe, who is still just 20-years-old, coming in at five.
Number 6 is yet another Argentinian, Juventus midfielder Paulo Dybala. His future at the club has been mired in mystery and constant rumors of transfers but Pornhub's list seems to indicate he's as popular as ever.
Belgian and Real Madrid winger Eden Hazard, England and Machester City forward Raheem Sterling, and France and Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema come in at 7, 8, and 9 respectively on the list.
At 10th, is the only player on the list who is not a professionally active footballer anymore, David Beckham. The former Manchester United and LA Galaxy midfielder is still turning heads more than half a decade after he officially retired from the sport, though it is a drop-off from 2015 when he was second.
Still, Pornhub revealed that searches for Beckham surged by 3440% in 2018 after he was snapped attending Prince Harry's wedding to Meghan Markle.