The most searched football stars globally – Ronaldo tops
Interest in football’s biggest stars is surging on Google ahead of the 2026 World Cup. Globally, Cristiano Ronaldo tops the list with over 10 million searches per month, while players from Bayern Munich dominate the trend list with increases of over 1,000 percent. TVmatchen has analyzed Google search data for all 48 national squads to find out which stars are searched the most.
On June 11, the 2026 the World Cup kicks off in the United States, Canada and Mexico, the first edition of the tournament to feature 48 participating nations.
The analysis shows that Cristiano Ronaldo is the most searched football player globally with over 10 million searches per month, followed by Lamine Yamal (8.6 million) and Neymar (5.1 million). Despite being 41 years old and playing in Saudi Arabia, Ronaldo remains the world’s most searched player by a significant margin.
– Lamine Yamal could very well be the defining star player of this tournament. He turns 19 in July and represents a new generation of superstars who are already capturing the world’s attention, the search data speaks for itself, says David Thorstensson, football expert at TVmatchen.
Among the more unexpected names on the global top 50 list, Viktor Gyokeres (1.6 million) appears in ninth place, ahead of stars such as Erling Haaland (1.5 million), Mohamed Salah (1.2 million) and Bruno Fernandes (1 million).
One club stands out among the players with the strongest search trend over the past year: German giants Bayern Munich. The three players on the global top 50 list with by far the biggest increases all play for Bayern – Lennart Karl (+1,251%), Michael Olise (+1,014%) and Luis Díaz (+1,009%).
Behind them, several players have seen increases of around 220-230 percent, including Nick Woltemade, Bernardo Silva, Nico Paz and Manuel Neuer, Bayern Munich’s goalkeeper.
Top 50 most googled football players
| # | Name | Searches | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 🇵🇹 Cristiano Ronaldo | 10 157 000 | −33% |
| 2 | 🇪🇸 Lamine Yamal | 8 595 000 | −18% |
| 3 | 🇧🇷 Neymar | 5 067 000 | 0% |
| 4 | 🇦🇷 Lionel Messi | 3 277 000 | −45% |
| 5 | 🇫🇷 Kylian Mbappé | 3 133 000 | −18% |
| 6 | 🇧🇷 Raphinha | 2 013 000 | −45% |
| 7 | 🏴 Harry Kane | 1 744 000 | 175% |
| 8 | 🏴 Jude Bellingham | 1 627 000 | −46% |
| 9 | 🇸🇪 Viktor Gyökeres | 1 621 000 | −18% |
| 10 | 🇧🇷 Endrick | 1 547 000 | 23% |
Show full list (11–50)Hide 11–50▾
| 11 | 🇳🇴 Erling Haaland | 1 485 000 | 23% |
| 12 | 🇩🇪 Florian Wirtz | 1 479 000 | −45% |
| 13 | 🇪🇸 Rodri | 1 388 000 | 0% |
| 14 | 🇪🇸 Nico Williams | 1 355 000 | −63% |
| 15 | 🇸🇪 Alexander Isak | 1 341 000 | −33% |
| 16 | 🏴 Marcus Rashford | 1 321 000 | 0% |
| 17 | 🇪🇸 Pedri | 1 298 000 | −46% |
| 18 | 🇭🇷 Luka Modric | 1 269 000 | −33% |
| 19 | 🇧🇪 Kevin De Bruyne | 1 236 000 | −80% |
| 20 | 🇪🇬 Mohamed Salah | 1 198 000 | −33% |
| 21 | 🇵🇹 Bruno Fernandes | 1 040 000 | 48% |
| 22 | 🇫🇷 Ousmane Dembélé | 1 025 000 | 0% |
| 23 | 🇵🇹 Vitinha | 968 000 | 122% |
| 24 | 🇧🇷 Éderson | 913 000 | 173% |
| 25 | 🇧🇷 Carlo Ancelotti (coach) | 864 000 | −84% |
| 26 | 🇰🇷 Son Heung-Min | 838 000 | 0% |
| 27 | 🇩🇪 Manuel Neuer | 797 000 | 233% |
| 28 | 🇪🇸 Gavi | 757 000 | −45% |
| 29 | 🇦🇷 Nico Paz | 756 000 | 232% |
| 30 | 🇩🇪 Nick Woltemade | 732 000 | 235% |
| 31 | 🇫🇷 Rayan Cherki | 726 000 | 82% |
| 32 | 🇫🇷 Michael Olise | 718 000 | 1014% |
| 33 | 🇳🇱 Noa Lang | 701 000 | 123% |
| 34 | 🇳🇱 Memphis Depay | 686 000 | −33% |
| 35 | 🇵🇹 Nuno Mendes | 642 000 | 83% |
| 36 | 🇫🇷 Désiré Doué | 616 000 | −45% |
| 37 | 🇲🇦 Achraf Hakimi | 607 000 | 50% |
| 38 | 🇧🇷 Casemiro | 605 000 | 50% |
| 39 | 🇩🇪 Lennart Karl | 600 000 | 1251% |
| 40 | 🇧🇷 Vinícius Júnior | 599 000 | 0% |
| 41 | 🏴 Declan Rice | 588 000 | −80% |
| 42 | 🇸🇳 Nicolas Jackson | 587 000 | 83% |
| 43 | 🇵🇹 Bernardo Silva | 576 000 | 232% |
| 44 | 🇩🇪 Jamal Musiala | 574 000 | 83% |
| 45 | 🇧🇷 Matheus Cunha | 572 000 | −33% |
| 46 | 🇪🇸 Ferran Torres | 569 000 | −18% |
| 47 | 🇸🇳 Sadio Mané | 568 000 | 0% |
| 48 | 🇦🇷 Lautaro Martínez | 565 000 | −55% |
| 49 | 🇨🇴 Luis Díaz | 525 000 | 1009% |
| 50 | 🏴 Eberechi Eze | 511 000 | 123% |
Searches = average monthly Google searches. Trend = change vs. previous year.
– This is going to be a fantastic World Cup with more star players than ever. A tournament full of world-class talent and it will be exciting to see which lesser-known names step up and make their mark on the biggest stage, says David Thorstensson.
According to the betting markets, Spain and France are the favorites to win the World Cup with odds of 5.50–6.00, closely followed by England (7.0), Brazil and Argentina (9.0). Portugal (11.0) and Germany (13.0–15.0) are also in the conversation. Norway, meanwhile, rank as the ninth best team in the odds, where a World Cup victory ”only” pays 26 times the stake.
Who tops the searches in each country?
While Lamine Yamal tops the rankings across the Nordics, the picture shifts elsewhere: Cristiano Ronaldo leads in Germany and the US, while in the UK it’s Alexander Isak who Brits search for the most. Here’s the top 10 most-searched players in every market we analysed.
← Swipe sideways to see all countries →
| # | 🇬🇧 UK | 🇺🇸 USA | 🇸🇪 Sweden | 🇳🇴 Norway | 🇩🇰 Denmark | 🇫🇮 Finland | 🇮🇸 Iceland | 🇩🇪 Germany |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 🇸🇪 Alexander Isak | 🇵🇹 Cristiano Ronaldo | 🇸🇪 Alexander Isak | 🇪🇸 Lamine Yamal | 🇪🇸 Lamine Yamal | 🇪🇸 Lamine Yamal | 🇸🇪 Alexander Isak | 🇵🇹 Cristiano Ronaldo |
| 2 | 🇵🇹 Cristiano Ronaldo | 🇪🇸 Lamine Yamal | 🇸🇪 Viktor Gyökeres | 🇳🇴 Martin Ødegaard | 🇵🇹 Cristiano Ronaldo | 🇵🇹 Cristiano Ronaldo | 🇵🇹 Cristiano Ronaldo | 🇩🇪 Manuel Neuer |
| 3 | 🇪🇸 Lamine Yamal | 🇧🇷 Neymar | 🇪🇸 Lamine Yamal | 🇵🇹 Cristiano Ronaldo | 🇳🇴 Erling Haaland | 🇦🇷 Lionel Messi | 🇪🇸 Lamine Yamal | 🇩🇪 Florian Wirtz |
| 4 | 🇩🇪 Florian Wirtz | 🇦🇷 Lionel Messi | 🇵🇹 Cristiano Ronaldo | 🇸🇪 Alexander Isak | 🇧🇷 Neymar | 🇧🇷 Neymar | 🇪🇬 Mohamed Salah | 🇪🇸 Lamine Yamal |
| 5 | 🏴 Harry Kane | 🇫🇷 Kylian Mbappé | 🇸🇪 Graham Potter (coach) | 🇳🇴 Alexander Sørloth | 🇸🇪 Alexander Isak | 🇫🇷 Kylian Mbappé | 🇩🇪 Florian Wirtz | 🏴 Harry Kane |
| 6 | 🏴 Marcus Rashford | 🏴 Jude Bellingham | 🇸🇪 Lucas Bergvall | 🇳🇴 Antonio Nusa | 🏴 Harry Kane | 🇸🇪 Alexander Isak | 🇳🇴 Erling Haaland | 🇩🇪 Lennart Karl |
| 7 | 🇸🇪 Viktor Gyökeres | 🇧🇷 Raphinha | 🇧🇷 Neymar | 🇳🇴 Oscar Bobb | 🏴 Jude Bellingham | 🇪🇬 Mohamed Salah | 🇸🇪 Viktor Gyökeres | 🇩🇪 Nick Woltemade |
| 8 | 🇵🇹 Bruno Fernandes | 🇰🇷 Son Heung-Min | 🇳🇴 Erling Haaland | 🇳🇴 Patrick Berg | 🇫🇷 Kylian Mbappé | 🇳🇴 Erling Haaland | 🇵🇹 Bruno Fernandes | 🇫🇷 Michael Olise |
| 9 | 🏴 Jude Bellingham | 🇳🇴 Erling Haaland | 🇫🇷 Kylian Mbappé | 🇧🇷 Neymar | 🇸🇪 Viktor Gyökeres | 🏴 Harry Kane | 🇧🇷 Neymar | 🇩🇪 Jamal Musiala |
| 10 | 🏴 Declan Rice | 🇪🇸 Rodri | 🇦🇷 Lionel Messi | 🇳🇴 Thelo Aasgaard | 🇵🇹 Bruno Fernandes | 🇩🇪 Florian Wirtz | 🇳🇱 Virgil Van Dijk | 🇧🇷 Neymar |
Top 10 most searched World Cup players by country — average monthly Google searches.
The data shows fans gravitate toward both the global icons and their own national heroes. The study was conducted in Sweden by TVmatchen, analysing Google search data across all 48 national squads.
TVmatchen is not affiliated with, sponsored by, or officially associated with the FIFA World Cup.
