Among the ESPN Top 50 Players of the World Cup, Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal was the most-searched player, accounting for 38% of search clicks during the week ended May 29. Ronaldo—ranked No. 2 on the ESPN Top 50—was recently featured (shirtless) on the cover of Vanity Fair magazine in the US, which likely boosted awareness.

 
Argentina's Lionel Messi, accounting for 11.57% of search clicks, ranked second in searches but holds the top rank on the ESPN Top 50. Landon Donovan, the only US player in the Top 50, was No. 4 in search clicks (6.25%).

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Soccer Goes Mobile

Asked how consumers intend to follow the World Cup, many fans are choosing mobile: 21% of fans worldwide say they will get at least some of their information from the Internet via mobile device and another 9% plan to use applications on their phones, according to separate research from Nielsen.

Across the geographic regions surveyed:

• 23% of US fans and 11% of Canadians say they plan to check up on the World Cup via their mobile phones.
• Brazilians are twice as likely (21%) to get World Cup information via mobile phones as Argentines (10%); however, neither country comes close to Venezuela (27%).
• In the Middle East and Africa, between 22% and 30% of respondents plan to use their mobile phones.
• In Europe, planned mobile use is lower: Ireland shows the most mobile interest (18%), but in big European soccer nations like Germany and Spain only 3% of respondents say they plan to use their mobile for information.