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Football

16th Aug 2015

Cristiano Ronaldo and Ronda Rousey among top 20 most charitable athletes in the world

Athletes gone good

Ben Kiely

The most charitable athlete in the world is Cristiano Ronaldo.

The Real Madrid star topped the “Top 20 Athletes Gone Good” list from DoSomething.org which ranks the top most charitable athletes on the planet.

Ronaldo got the nod for an impressive list of generous gestures which includes donating $83,000 to pay for a child’s brain surgery and used $165,000 to fund a Portuguese cancer center. The football superstar also uses his fame as a global spokesperson for a variety of issues including childhood hunger, obesity and biodiversity.

Ronaldo beat WWE star John Cena and Wimbledon champion Serena Williams who came in second and third, respectively. Cena is heavily involved in the Make-A-Wish foundation while Williams has her own foundation and is a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador.

UFC champion Ronda Rousey came in 14th for the good work she does for mental health awareness.

The winners of Athletes Gone Good were selected based on votes and nominations from the public, their influence on social media and advice from the Athletes Gone Good Advisory Committee.

1. Cristiano Ronaldo (Football)
2. John Cena (Professional wrestling)
3. Serena Williams (Tennis)
4. Yuna Kim (Figure skating)
5. Neymar Jr. (Football)
6. LeBron James (Basketball)
7. Heather O’Reilly (Football)
8. Maria Sharapova (Tennis)
9. Mo’ne Davis (Baseball)
10. Richard Sherman (American Football)
11. Meryl Davis & Charlie White (Ice dancing)
12. Dan Carter (Rugby)
13. Roman Reigns (Professional wrestling)
14. Ronda Rousey (MMA)
15. Lindsey Vonn (Alpine skiing)
16. Tom Daley (Diving)
17. Bethany Hamilton (Surfing)
18. Saina Nehwal (Badminton)
19. Paul Rabil (Lacrosse)
20. Shahid Afridi (Cricket)

Hat-tip to Look to the Stars

The FootballJOE quiz: Were you paying attention? – episode 10