Cristiano Ronaldo vs Virat Kohli: Who was Google's most searched sportsperson of year 2023?

Google gave special recognition to former India captain Virat Kohli and Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo on Tuesday in its list of the most searched topics in its 25-year history.

In the 2023 season, two of the most renowned sportsmen in the world, Ronaldo and Kohli, have not stopped working to change sports history. Ronaldo, who left Manchester United to tour Saudi Arabia, has dominated the Saudi Pro League while playing for Al-Nassr FC.

At the Saudi King Cup, the former star of Real Madrid and Manchester United scored his 50th goal of the 2023 campaign in Al-Nassr's 5-2 victory over fierce rivals Al Shabab. 

In the 74th minute of the match, the 38-year-old scored a historic goal with his right foot from close range. The Al-Nassr team's iconic forward has scored almost a goal every game on average since moving to the oil-rich country following the FIFA World Cup 2022. 

In nine games this year, goal machine Ronaldo has also found the back of the net ten times for Portugal.

Ronaldo, the captain of Portugal, defeated his bitter rival Lionel Messi to become the most searched athlete on Google. "The next 25 years will be completely different if the last 25 years have taught us anything. Let us toast to the most sought-after moments in history. Google captioned a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, with the hashtag "#YearInSearch."

Google announced that this year's most searched cricket player is none other than batting legend Virat Kohli, despite Ronaldo being named the most searched athlete.