Is Novak Djokovic the most famous athlete globally coming from the Balkans?
Posted by soulhunterrai@reddit | AskBalkans | View on Reddit | 466 comments
Or is there someone more famous than Novak coming from the Balkans?
Fun_Street7644@reddit
Modric is by default more famous than Novak because he plays football but I do not think the difference is really big.
(btw famous doesn't mean more individual achievements or better athlete overall, just more popular)
Tall_Cheetah8789@reddit
Joe Sakic
lightpeachfuzz@reddit
Just as a counterpoint to all the people saying Modric over Djokovic, I thought it was interesting that if you compare Google search trends since 2004 thatDjokovic is way ahead of Modric in every country by a fair margin.
I don't know if that's a fair or accurate way of measuring fame but I wouldn't just assume that Modric is more well known in places like India or China or the USA than Djokovic just because football is overall more popular globally.
soulhunterrai@reddit (OP)
And now look at the most popular sports globally in 2025 https://www.topendsports.com/world/lists/popular-sport/fans.htm Google trends to messure popularity is down bad š
lightpeachfuzz@reddit
Yes but even if you're not a tennis fan then you still probably know who Djokovic, Federer and Nadal are but if you're not a football fan then you might know of Messi, Ronaldo and Beckham but you're unlikely to know who Modric is.
soulhunterrai@reddit (OP)
So you think Djokovic is more globally popular than for example jokic one of the best players in the world or doncic who plays for the Lakers the most popular basketball club in the world or Luka modric who won a balon dor? Come on dude...
Stev_The_Guy@reddit
come on dude.. you cant keep getting things wrong.
soulhunterrai@reddit (OP)
Nope it's an objective fact https://www.fiba.basketball/en/news/fiba-celebrates-more-than-610-million-players-globally-on-second-edition-of-wbd
Stev_The_Guy@reddit
seems like an opinion piece to me, which woudl actually make it not fact.
soulhunterrai@reddit (OP)
It's a fact. Check it out yourself. Basketball is the second most participated team sport globally after football
Stev_The_Guy@reddit
i checked it out, it isnt.
soulhunterrai@reddit (OP)
https://www.fiba.basketball/en/news/fiba-celebrates-more-than-610-million-players-globally-on-second-edition-of-wbd
Stev_The_Guy@reddit
"cant win, repost opinion piece again"
soulhunterrai@reddit (OP)
Show me your source then. This is official
Stev_The_Guy@reddit
on what? you dont even know what you're arguing against.
soulhunterrai@reddit (OP)
You are just wasting my time.
soulhunterrai@reddit (OP)
Okay show me which sport outside of soccer/football has 610+mil people playing any team sport regularly globally. Can't find any.
Stev_The_Guy@reddit
so your failure to find something means it doesnt exist? are you sure your statements arent born of some sorta delusional protagonist syndorme?
soulhunterrai@reddit (OP)
I tried to find it doesn't exist. Since you found it shoe me (Ik you are lying that yoh found)
Special-Suggestion74@reddit
Who are doncic and jokic ?
lightpeachfuzz@reddit
Popular no, I've got no opinion on how popular they are. But more famous? Yes I do think Djokovic is more famous than all of them
olio28@reddit
Idk why people say modric, while football is way more popular than tennis, he is just one of so many great players in his sport while Djokovic on the other hand is a superstar in tennis.
In other words, modric is like in the top 50 most famous players while Djokovic is top 3 in his sport.
dancingwiththedaff@reddit
This. Non-fans or even lots of casual fans will not have heard of Modric but definitely know who Djokovic is
Invisible_Cnt@reddit
LoL, oranges and apples. It's like when women complain about their salary in WNBA or football compared to men
ā½ Football (Soccer) ~4 ā 5 billion FIFA World Cup Final 1.5 + billion š¾ Tennis ~1 ā 1.2 billion Wimbledon Final ~100 million
ā½ Football (Soccer) ~128,000 š¾ Tennis ~2,300 ā 2,400
The ratio of professional football players to professional tennis players is 52 to 1, on every tennis player there are 52 football players out there.
Not to mention that tennis is individuals sport while football is team sport and it's harder to achieve things.
And ModriÄ is many would argue best midfield player ever.
Smorcomics@reddit
There also aspect of group vs individual sports. Modrics achievements are perceived as his contributions to the team while Djokovic is responsible for his achievements wholly
DownvoteEvangelist@reddit
True but Lionel Messi is way more poular than Djokovic on Google Trends, so it's just that Modric is not big enough..
Ms_Meercat@reddit
Plus his extraordinariness... like I've never watched golf in my life and I never plan to, I still know who Tiger Woods is
dkmegg22@reddit
I live in Canada by the way so I'm usually around people who don't know about soccer and I'll say this much Djokovic is more known.
Far_Idea9616@reddit
Football is no 1 sport by popularity (ca. 3.5 billion fan base, annual revenue ca. 30-35 billion), tennis is no. 5 sport with 1 billion fan base 5-8 billion usd annual revenue). Basketball is no. 3 sport (2.2 billion fan base, 10-11 billion revenue) so Jokic might be a strong contender too.
lightpeachfuzz@reddit
A sport being the most popular doesn't mean that its athletes will automatically be more famous than a slightly less popular sport. That's like saying that because China and India are the most populous countries that their celebrities would be more popular than a celebrity from Australia, even though Hugh Jackman, Nicole Kidman, Cate Blanchett and Chris Hemsworth are way better known globally than any Chinese celebrity, who would be hardly known outside China.
Tennis players like Djokovic, Nadal and Federer are incredibly well known to people who don't follow tennis, while Modric, Jokic and Doncic are only really known to people who follow football.
soulhunterrai@reddit (OP)
Google trend is funny to meassure popularity for example this is a better more logical way. Most popular sports globally in 2025 data https://www.topendsports.com/world/lists/popular-sport/fans.htm (both football and basketball are in the famous top 3 zone) do you really think Djokovic is more famous globally than for example Jokic who is one of the best basketball players in the world if not the best in a sport that is too 3 most popular sports in the world or doncic who plays for the Lakers most popular basketball club in the world, or Modric who won a balon dor? Think again...
EphemeralOcean@reddit
Yes I do. Even if though I dont follow tennis, you know Djokovic. Jokic and Doncic are famous for people who follow basketball, but not famous enough to break out of people who donāt follow basketball. I dont follow basketball and wouldnt be able to tell you who they are if i hadnt read this post. Modric i know because i follow soccer a little bit, but if i didnt probably the only names iād know are Ronaldo, Messi, and Beckham.
soulhunterrai@reddit (OP)
The point is basketball and football are way bigger sports than Tennis. Doncic plays for the Lakers most popular basketball club in the world. Jokic is one of the best basketball players in the world... Modric won a balon dor
EphemeralOcean@reddit
I get your point and Iām saying that doesnt matter in this case because for all of those other people, even though they play more popular sports, they are still only famous to the people who follow those sports, whereas Djokovic is known to people who DONT follow tennis. Ir doesnt matter how popular tennis is, because people who dont follow tennis know of him.
Put another way, there are people who are famous within the sport they play and then in each sport there are like 1-5 people who have risen above that and are celebrities, known to people who donāt follow that sport. They are something like:
Football/Soccer: messi, ronaldo, beckhem Basketball: michael jordan, kobe bryant, lebron james, yao ming Tennis: federer, jokovic, nadal Golf: tiger woods Swimming: michael phelps, maybe ryan lochte Hockey: wayne gretzkey
And then other sports like baseball, cricket, American football which are incredibly popular in a few countries but likely dont have any real worldwide fame.
In any case, the only Balkan person on that list is Djokovic.
soulhunterrai@reddit (OP)
This is what ai told me.
EphemeralOcean@reddit
At the bottom of every AI answer it says āAI can be wrong.ā Thereās a very easy way to find this out, which is google trends, but youāve stated you think itās bad without explaining why. Is it bad because it disagrees with you or for some other reason?
soulhunterrai@reddit (OP)
I don't relv on google Trends and ai. But I deffo think doncic is more popular than Djokovic globally simple reason is. He plays for the Lakers one of the most popular sport teams globally
EphemeralOcean@reddit
Doncic has been on the Lakers for less than a year. Whatās the point of asking this question if you simply ignore the most significant evidence that answers it? Youāre basically saying āI believe in xyz because thatās what i believe. End of story.ā Ok cool bro.
soulhunterrai@reddit (OP)
The point is their answer is biased to the point where I have to respond the way I do.
Comfortable_Reach248@reddit
Doesn't make any sense because football is much more popular than tennis in almost every country. And in some big countries like Brazil or India that gap is way bigger.
mankoman326@reddit
As a non-balkan wtf is modric?
ZeistyZeistgeist@reddit
Luka ModriÄ is a football player and a mid-fielder, and the former star and captain of Real Madrid (he plays for Milan now) - considered one of the best football players ever. One thing about Croatia is that we consistently roll out one football legend after another.
ÄokoviÄ hahs more staying power - because it is way harder to be globally recognized as a singular talent in football than in tennis, so him being more famous is not a surprise. Yes, Messi and Ronaldo are most recognized footballers but there is a plethora of legendary football players, they just happen to be the most famous ones - also, foward attackers are those who have the most fame because they are the goal scorers, and ModriÄ is a mid-fielder.
mankoman326@reddit
Cheers, yeh, Djokovic is insanely famous, I don't watch tennis and even I know of him.
lightpeachfuzz@reddit
A Croatian footballer who has played for Tottenham, Real Madrid and now AC Milan.
mankoman326@reddit
Thanks! Yeh...no where close to as famous as Djokovic. I don't watch soccer or tennis but even I know of him!
TENTAtheSane@reddit
Well, speaking for india, Djokovic is pretty much a household name that even non tennis fans recognise. But Modric is only known to big football fans.
Emergency-Style7392@reddit
yea but there's more than just google trends. If you ask people do you know djoko, if they know what tennis is they probably do. I think the better more interesting stat would be how many people know where they're from and how many people watched some of their games
ThemasterofZ@reddit
Id say if youre googled more, youre less known
lightpeachfuzz@reddit
I'd say the opposite, you're assuming that if somebody googles someone then it means that they don't know who they are but it can also indicate interest in news/information about that person like match scores, social media accounts, videos/highlights, interviews, brand partnerships/endorsements etc.
Ok_Stretch_405@reddit
Jokovic became famous for sitting next to Rita Ora š
MihailoD1@reddit
By the comments we can see that people think globally = west
Djokovic is really huge in China for example. US does not care about football.
So in the Europe, Africa and Middle we can debate, but if we include US, China, India, Australia, it is not even close.
And you can also check the data like YouGov where Djokovic is number 20 globally, while Modric is 59 and Guller and Ibra are not even measured.
When_I_ate_hamzz2344@reddit
lol "massive support". He basically alienated half the population of the world with his "stances".
MihailoD1@reddit
Both of you are making conclusions based on personal evidence, typical confirmation bias.
Also, that is completely another debate; he was opposing mandates for everyone, like plenty of IVY League professors, epidemiologists, etc.
Most famous is the topic here, and making "half of the population" hate him, while the other half supports him, helps my point.
I agree that you can't find a hater for Rafa, but you can for Roger, the "fake gentleman".
sNajw0w@reddit
Same in Germany, he destroyed his own image by his actions. At least to people with a functioning brain.
When_I_ate_hamzz2344@reddit
He's always going to be a joke to the educated world. This is why he'll never truly be "great".
Austro_bugar@reddit
What about South America?
tremendabosta@reddit
I think Djokovic is more known (by more people) by a small margin
Diligent_Opinion4945@reddit
How is that even possible, isn't Brazil a land of football ?
tremendabosta@reddit
It is but not everyone follows European football
Pissofshite@reddit
Did they maybe watch world cup 2022? š¤£
Delicious_Idea_8960@reddit
People in Brazil mostly watch Brazilian football, they don't care too much about European leagues
Toma357@reddit
I have been in rural Nigeria. Kids there knew about ModriÄ. I dont think they even know about tennis as a sport.
If we are talking about South America, Africa and Asia. It is Modric.
MrSmi@reddit
Same in Tanzania, Kenya, Namibia, Mauritius and Seychelles. I like to travel, Africa is my fav and every time i bring football ball and few Croatian jerseys. You even can't imagine that they know for Modric, but don't have drinkable water.Ā
pvp1102@reddit
Asia defo Djokovic
Toma357@reddit
Sorry, but no way. Apart from West, tennis just isn't that popular sport.
Half of Indians are Real Madrid fans and rest hate it because they cheer for Barcelona. Just look at reddit pages of theses clubs. All of them know about Modric.
inevitable_entropy13@reddit
for real iām living in US and i barely know anyone who is into tennis.
MihailoD1@reddit
Making assumptions based on personal experiences is almost never right. Djokovic is more popular as a celebrity in US than as a player.
Also in the US market you actually have the data where Djokovic is ranked higher
pvp1102@reddit
Tennis is one of the most popular sports, which djoko is the GOAT of, and Modric is not the greatest of his sport
Toma357@reddit
I agree with you that ÄokoviÄ is goat of tennis. ModriÄ is not even in top 10 in football.
Neverthless, footbal is by far more popular sport. There isnt even debate of that. Most of third world countries dont care about tennis but football is life.
DownvoteEvangelist@reddit
True, if Modric was GOAT of football, there would be no contest with Djokovic. But he isn't that good..
Emergency-Style7392@reddit
yea but indians are obsessed with real madrid so points for modric
geniuslogitech@reddit
JokiÄ > ÄokoviÄ in Asia
Antaeus2xr@reddit
ŠŠ°. Š©Šµ Š±ŃŠ“Šµ ŃŠ°ŠŗŃŠ² Š·Š° Š“ŃŠ»Š³Š¾ Š²ŃŠµŠ¼Šµ.
MessrsSins@reddit
10 years of Lakers and if he wins a championship for them and its Luka Doncic
Frequent-Seaweed-794@reddit
What about Hristo Stoichkov...I mean he is a football legend
goxhan_tp@reddit
Luka Modric. Football is the most famous sport in the world. Real Madrid is the most famous club in the world. Also he went to the world cup finals. Luka Modric is the only answer. Tennis is not anywhere close to football.
AccomplishedCandy479@reddit
U wanna say maybeee, top 50-70 fottball player ever is more famous than top 1 tennis player ever? If Vucic didnt exist, this steatment would be the biggeds dogshit i have ever heard.
goxhan_tp@reddit
It is just the biggest sport. I am not saying he is the best athlete. He is most famous for sure. Football is played and followed in every country around the world while tennis in only a bunch of them. And Modric played for Madrid which makes a lot of difference. He was teammates with Cristiano Ronaldo which is the most famous person to ever exist in this planet. Played el-clasicos and many finals( champions leagues, world cup, club world cup, etc.) For example in Albania no one has any idea about any tennis or basketball players but everyone knows Modric. Just think how many countries you have like that in Africa, Asia and around the world where no one has any idea about tennis except a few people.
Thick_Knowledge5566@reddit
People underestimate the reach that football has. Tennis is a niche sport in comparison to football. There is no chance that any other person is more famous than Modric in the Balkans. I live in North America and asked a few of my coworkers this question yesterday. They are mostly from Balkan backgrounds, with a Greek majority, and all of them agreed that Modric is the most famous athlete from our area.
Capable-Carrot-1879@reddit
Zlatan IbrahimoviÄ
Capable-Carrot-1879@reddit
no
No_Jokes_Here@reddit
As a Bulgarian I belive it is Djokovic.
Fee-Dismal@reddit
I'd put JokiÄ, ModriÄ and DonÄiÄ higher. Basketball is huge in China and football is huge in pretty much any developing nation.
LesPaul3419@reddit
https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?date=today%205-y&q=luka%20modric,novak%20djokovic,luka%20doncic,nikola%20jokic&hl=en
China not included tho, but I believe the picture says it all... Djoko by far, then Doncic/Jokic way lower and finally Modric.
denio1992@reddit
luka modric, novak djokovic, luka doncic, nikola jokic, Zlatan IbrahimoviÄ - Explore - Google Trends
soulhunterrai@reddit (OP)
That's dumb to meassure popularity. This might be better https://www.topendsports.com/world/lists/popular-sport/fans.htm (most popular sports in the world
geniuslogitech@reddit
JokiÄ > ÄokoviÄ > DonÄiÄ in China which is one of the biggest populations, also they are low key racist, that's why white basketball players are much more popular than Lebron
vanadous@reddit
To be fair there is also recency bias. Basketball is growing year by year in china and new fans won't know LeBron peak
soulhunterrai@reddit (OP)
China isn't the world bro. Basketball is a global sport. But basketball is indeed the most popular sport in China tho
geniuslogitech@reddit
yeah I mean JokiÄ is most popular because of China, just China has more population than whole "West" put together, 1.4 vs 1.2b people
soulhunterrai@reddit (OP)
You forgot basketball popularity in Philippines Taiwan Indonesia Australia etc.
makaveddie@reddit
Completely off topic, but this comment reminded me that Google is not allowed in China, and that's mind blowing
gpetrov@reddit
Stoichkov
geo0rgi@reddit
Stoichkov is niche af, he is well known amongst Barcelona fans, but is simply from a different era and young people don't really know much about him
etnoexodus@reddit
Berbatov might be more known than him simply due to age
CocoonNapper@reddit
I'd say Jokic is up there.
dancingwiththedaff@reddit
Not even close. Basketball is just not relevant in large parts of the world. Non fans may have heard or LeBron or Steph Curry but that's about it
CocoonNapper@reddit
That's not true. It's become a global sport. Not at the level of football (soccer), but second, easily. Michael Jordan because the universal standard for excellence in sports after Pele and Maradona, and now Ronaldo and Messi. People know Michael, dunking. Basketball is probably the second or third sport in the world.
danRares@reddit
I could list you 5 gymnasts or other athletes from other sports that accomplished more than Jokic just from Romania.
I mean what titles does he have? World championship? No
CocoonNapper@reddit
He's only the best all around player in one of the most popular sports in the world. And at an NBA level, winning that championship is already saying you won the championship amongst the best players in the world (yes, everyone drools for a multi-million NBA contract if they can get one).
danRares@reddit
True, but that doesn't beat an athlete with 5 or 6 Olympic gold medals, honestly. Just my two cents on this topic. Peace!
CocoonNapper@reddit
I get what you're saying, but what it takes to become the best basketball player in the world compared to what it takes to become the best gymnast in the world, in todays terms, is night and day. Way more competition in basketball. Michael Phelps dominated a sport more than anyone in a span of 20 years (even someone like Messi can't be compared), but I would rank Lebron James as a better athlete than Michael Phelps - just on all around, what it takes, etc. But I get your point.
Tenchi_Muyo1@reddit
Jokic is only popular in US and half of Balkan
Actual_Box7731@reddit
this is not true
No_Stomach_2341@reddit
What about Spain, France all of eastern countries in Europe, China, S Korea, Philippines, Brazil and Argentina? Basketball is HUGE
geniuslogitech@reddit
JokiÄ is rly popular in China which has more population than US + Europe combined
Eric_Nathan_Fielder@reddit
He's known by anyone who watches a bit of basketball across the globe
soulhunterrai@reddit (OP)
Are you sure? https://www.topendsports.com/world/lists/popular-sport/fans.htm (most popular sports in the world as of 2025)
soulhunterrai@reddit (OP)
Absolutely not true lol.
GlitteringLocality@reddit
Yeah I was going to mention him too, him and DonÄiÄ.
geniuslogitech@reddit
DonÄiÄ is not as popular in China which is a HUGE market
DezurniLjomber@reddit
Isnt as global and lasting
soulhunterrai@reddit (OP)
https://www.topendsports.com/world/lists/popular-sport/fans.htm this is the most popular sports globally in 2025.
jotakajk@reddit
Doncic is very popular in Spain! āļø It is treated in the news as any Spanish athlete (We donāt claim him but he is loved here)
minkadominka@reddit
He started in Madrid
jotakajk@reddit
Yes, I am fully aware. He speaks perfect Spanish as well
bardhizi@reddit
Who dat?!
Unholyxyra@reddit
Iād say Hristo Stoichkov, football is just more famous sport. And you canāt judge those things based on searches. Iām sure that if internet was as used 50 years ago as today we would have many people around Djokovic, and Stoichkov.
kingkongben88@reddit
Alexander the great
Zlatan the great
sstopggap@reddit
It's obviously Viktor Krum
ClothesOpposite1702@reddit
Modric has to be more well known overall, since most of the World watched World cup and saw Croatia reach later stages, they would know about Modric. In West and westernised countries, Djokovic might be more popular, but overall gotta be Modric
Melodic-Pie-7833@reddit
Errrrrā¦..Luka ModriÄ
ProfessionalRate6174@reddit
Ok_Stretch_405@reddit
Did he get Ballon d'Or š¤
driftstyle28@reddit
24 Grand Slams and 7 Wimbledon trophies. You could definitely compare those to a Ballon D'Or.
Maatchym@reddit
Out of curiosity, how many Olympic sports do you think are exceptions to that?
Two that comes to my mind are football (where the World Cup is the most prestigious) and basketball (where it's the NBA title), but I also have to say, in basketball even the biggest stars want to play at the olympics.
Paja03_@reddit
There is no olympics for football anymore (only for U21)
Ok_Stretch_405@reddit
I am a plebe. I only know Ballon d'Or
DDzxy@reddit
*24 Grand Slams and 7 Tour Finals and Olympic Gold
DDzxy@reddit
He never won the Ugandan Premier League.
Ok_Stretch_405@reddit
You must be fun at parties.
DDzxy@reddit
Actually, I am.
Ok_Stretch_405@reddit
Good for you mate šš
GayOver@reddit
he is by far the most successful Balkan player in any sports by far. Most other players were never even counted as top world players, yet this guy is already established among legends, not just by Balkan standards, but by world standards, Like Cristiano or Messi for Football, just that Tennis is not as popular.
These_Interest_7063@reddit
DjokoviÄ No1 š„š¾
BalkanViking007@reddit
No, probably modric or ibrahimovic
Imaginary_String_814@reddit
he didnt ask for croatia, but globally
BalkanViking007@reddit
Yes globally. Do you know anybody who doesnt know modric or zlatan?
Imaginary_String_814@reddit
Lmaoo most of china and us for example ?Ā
Mordic is no messy and of course all people that arenāt interested in soccer donāt know modric but djokovic knows everbodyĀ
Thatās so silly Ā
Far_Firefighter7602@reddit
The guy who sent LeBron back his jersey with a signature and appeared at Jimmy Kimmel?
There is no way no touches Zlatan in the US, and Zlatan is probably top 10 all time in the most famous footballers list.
Even assuming Nole is the #1 most famous player in tennis (which he is not, it's Fedal), tennis is at least more than 20x smaller than football in popularity.
Tennis is not bigger in China or India than football is, we are not talking about basketbal or cricket.
There are probably more Chinese/Indians that remember the top 10 most famous football players than that remember the top 3 most famous tennis players.
Imaginary_String_814@reddit
I am sure your unbiasedĀ
Also ur post history 50% about srebrenica
Far_Firefighter7602@reddit
I am not, but I'm still right.
But you mentioning Srebrenica to something this unrelated gives orc vibes to me. Oh and i just checked I posted 3 times in total about that, work on your math š
Imaginary_String_814@reddit
ur delusional but thats ok.
The top 10 biggest sports in the world by fan base are: 1) Football (Soccer) ā 3.5 billion fans, 2) Cricket ā 2.5 billion fans, 3) Field Hockey ā 2 billion fans, 4) Tennis ā 1 billion fans,
now put in perspective how many football players you have compared to tennis.
and if you cant honestly believe that people consider modric as one of the goats of football, next to messi/ronaldo.
Far_Firefighter7602@reddit
Not all positions in football are created equal. Great strikers or forwards get the most attention, certainly if their character is interesting. And like I said, he is probably in the top 10 most famous football players, so the amount of football players vs tennis players is irrelevant lol.
Also I didn't say Modric is a goat but he is a Ballon d'Or winner, world cup finalist and 6x CL winner in the social media era. Just by checking their Instagram accounts Djokovic, Modric, Ibrahimovic have 15, 40, and 65 million followers. Now that doesn't confirm everything because fan count vs total people who know you are two different things (GOATS or co-GOATS in sports are sometimes even known by regular people) but still I think it's a closer call than vs Ibra I guess.
Imaginary_String_814@reddit
Top10 football players of all times, you canāt be seriousĀ
BalkanViking007@reddit
Tell em boy, you are writing the post i didnt have energy foršāļø
BalkanViking007@reddit
This guy gets ir
BalkanViking007@reddit
Lol ok
GroupTherapyPT@reddit
Hate to always be that guy, but Ronaldo.... Cmon guys.
EverydayNormMf99@reddit
Portugal is Serbia
prajeala@reddit
Porto is the New Novi Sad
fk_censors@reddit
Novi Novi Sad?
prajeala@reddit
why so sad when you can be Novi
Anathema_91@reddit
New New Now š
ZelezopecnikovKoren@reddit
Madeira is Balkan soil, agreed
Disastrous-Spell-573@reddit
What about Luka DonÄiÄ? $54m annually.
ElkDue4803@reddit
Idk Luca Modric won the Balon Dor.
Aure more non Tennis fans know Djokovic then non football fans know Modric but Modric is well known in football and if you'd combine all the other sports fans they would still have less people then football fans globally
Local-Mechanic5005@reddit
Clearly ibrahimovic
Imaginary_String_814@reddit
djokovic by quite a margin. He is arguably the goat of tennis (modric is no messy, just a good player. Lmao)
bck2infinity@reddit
"Just a good player" šššš¤”
Imaginary_String_814@reddit
Yes do you consider him a goat ? Like Messi/RonaldoĀ
DarhkBlu@reddit
Well yeah of course we do except he achieves less then the two of them since he is a midfielder while they are wingers and strikers
Fine_Ad_8758@reddit
modric
Imaginary_Beat_1730@reddit
Djokovic has 3 times his net worth. It is not even close
Raia12@reddit
Net worth isn't fame though.
Imaginary_Beat_1730@reddit
I didnt know modric
CajOdShamarelice@reddit
š¤£š¤£š¤£š¤£š¤£ then stop talking, you're not qualified to comment on this post
Imaginary_Beat_1730@reddit
Ok Mr hooligan. Modric isnt even in the football hall of fame, Djokovic on the other side is the Tennis hall of fame. I don't watch tennis either but I know the best in each sport. Ronaldo and messi for example are known to non footballers like me.
It seems a flock of geniuses like you who watch only football think everyone has heard of Modric.
CajOdShamarelice@reddit
I don't even watch sports lol
Jungle-Vibes@reddit
He literally received a rewards for best UEFA and best FIFA player in 2018. If that isn't hall of fame, what is?
Imaginary_Beat_1730@reddit
As other posted, citing google trends ( for every year for the past 20 years), Djokovic is far more famous than Modric.
TheyCallHimBabaYagaa@reddit
If you don't know him, how did you know Djokovic has 3 times his net worth? š¤£
Imaginary_Beat_1730@reddit
I googled?
TheyCallHimBabaYagaa@reddit
You googled him and you still don't know who he is? Are you illiterate?
Imaginary_Beat_1730@reddit
Did you finish school or you just play football in the streets and pray to Modric?
Ok_Stretch_405@reddit
Any kid playing football on the street would pray to Modric, actually
nickmn13@reddit
The fact that you dont know one of the most well known players in the sport that is by far the most popular in the world means pretty much nothing...
Far_Estimate_5861@reddit
What an idiot
Imaginary_Beat_1730@reddit
Because I dont know Modric? I dont watch football and he is not even in top 50 as I see for the football hall of fame.
The idiot seems to be you since you seem too passionate about this guy...
Far_Estimate_5861@reddit
Because you think that an athlete who is wealthier than another is more famous for that very same reason and not because of his popularity around the world.
Imaginary_Beat_1730@reddit
He won his money out of competitions this is why he is much more famous and richer. If you ask anyone who doesnt follow tennis, he will at least know federer, rafa and Djokovic. If you ask someone who doesnt follow football they will not know him, he is just not as famous ronaldo, messi and others.
Mke_of_Astora@reddit
Brother you are here on post about balkan athletes, you dont watch tennis, you say yourself that you dont know who is modriÄ. Why are you here? You removed credibility from yourself since you dont watch sports yet are commenting on sports and athletes.
OkBuffalo315@reddit
No he is just a serbian chauvinist, a normal occurrence
Austro_bugar@reddit
Are you regarded?
Imaginary_Beat_1730@reddit
Probably you are since you can't type...
Fine_Ad_8758@reddit
Net worth has nothing to do with it lol. Ask a Sub-Saharan African kid who they know, and youāll get the answer.
Actual_Box7731@reddit
a random footballer from saudi arabia has insane net worth of like 20bil does that mean he is more popular than someone like Michael Jordan for example who is the richest athlete of all time with 3.8bil net worth more than Lebron Ronaldo and Messi combined?
Imaginary_Beat_1730@reddit
Name them
TheIncredibleWalrus@reddit
Iāve no idea who Modric is so no.
BardhyliX@reddit
He played in a world cup final and a world cup semi final with the eyes of billions on him, I think it's close but he'd be my player, + was part of one of the greatest teams to grace football and a Real Madrid legend which by itself has a lot of clout and fame attached to it.
Artsakh_Rug@reddit
Heās one of the most famous athletes of any sport ever so yes
Silver-Ad-9774@reddit
Arda turan Might compete with him from Turkey cause his parents are Turks from Balkans
Amockdfw89@reddit
That would be Muhammad Ali. Greco-Albanian who usurped power and became ruler of Egypt, modernizing the nation and creating a 150 year dynasty.
Once he retired he moved to America and became the most famous heavyweight championship boxer in history with a 56-5 record, and was also famous for social activism
driftstyle28@reddit
Pretty easy answer and a lot of cope in the comments.
soulhunterrai@reddit (OP)
Yeah but look at he the most popular sports globally in 2025 (2025 data most recent one) https://www.topendsports.com/world/lists/popular-sport/fans.htm
driftstyle28@reddit
We werent speaking about most popular sport but athlete. Djokovic is by far the most well known athlete, even people who dont care about tennis know about him.
soulhunterrai@reddit (OP)
Again that is simply not true. You really think Djokovic is more known globally than someone like Doncic who plays for the Lakers most popular basketball club in the world or Modric who won the balon dor? Come on bro a bit of objectivity...
driftstyle28@reddit
Which objectivity? Open your eyes, Modric is old and washed up, Jokic and Doncic are very popular, but not even people in Serbia gave two fucks about NBA before those two. Novak is objectively the most well known athlete, even people who dont know shit about tennis know that Djokovic is the GOAT of tennis.
soulhunterrai@reddit (OP)
Again Jokic and Doncic have more fans in Asia than tennis probably has globally. Simply not comparable google trends is funny cause in some places in Asia it's not even used.
driftstyle28@reddit
Yes and tennis and badminton are extremely hot in India which also isnt in this data, also one of the most popular sports in China too. I know you dont like facts but you are making a logical fallacy every time you write a comment...
soulhunterrai@reddit (OP)
Tennis popular in india and China? š Tennis isn't even more popular than basketball in Serbia
driftstyle28@reddit
Just stop leaving comments, you are only embarassing yourself, no need to dig an even deeper hole for yourself buddy... Google is free..
Actual_Box7731@reddit
there is no way you think tennis is on the same level with basketball, you would be surpised how much people actually follow tennis globally (very small portion compared to other sports like football and basketball)
driftstyle28@reddit
Until I get answers that say otherwise, Ill stick to believing in facts and statistics. If I were you, I would have stopped commenting a while ago. This is just embarassing.
soulhunterrai@reddit (OP)
Littlerally just search most popular sport in China
driftstyle28@reddit
The question is NOT which sport is bigger in China, the question IS "Is Novak Djokovic the most famous athlete globally coming from the Balkans?" which he obviously IS. Get a Brain, you don't even know which question you asked.
soulhunterrai@reddit (OP)
So in a country where basketball is like a religion you want to tell me he's more famous than Jokic doncic? Delusional asf broski...
driftstyle28@reddit
You are starting to be pathetic... Stop doing this to yourself...
soulhunterrai@reddit (OP)
"for onnline in China" this bot cannot even spell properly. Please don't troll with ai sources.
driftstyle28@reddit
"Most famous and searched for online" that means someone was searched for online, you open your browser and you search for someone or something... Are you ignorant or uneducated?
soulhunterrai@reddit (OP)
Here since your relevant sources are deep seek
soulhunterrai@reddit (OP)
Again "deepseek" is your relevant source. Nothing more to say.
driftstyle28@reddit
Where is yours? Argumentum ad ignorantiam... Just proving how poorly educated and unintelligent you are...
soulhunterrai@reddit (OP)
And the source is chat gpt š¤£š¤£š¤£
driftstyle28@reddit
Deepseek... Which is Chinese by the way. LMAO.
soulhunterrai@reddit (OP)
It's not Chinese dude it's maybe programmed by a Chinese
Actual_Box7731@reddit
delusional serbian thinks tennis is bigger than basketball and football globally, whats funny is you are arguing China where Basketball literally DWARFS tennis in every aspect of popularity. Kobe Bryant shoes there are more known and more popular than tennis players with all due respect.
driftstyle28@reddit
Logical fallacies with you all the time, going Ad Hominem because you don't have an answer tells me you must be a child. You relly on the absence of evidence instead of evidence itself and think you are proving a point. You make an argument of ignorance in every comment. Goodbye now, little boy, until you can actually prove something other than type out bullshit and try to use my ethnicity as a relevant argument I will not entertain this further.
soulhunterrai@reddit (OP)
Again compared to basketball it's a minor sport especially in China
driftstyle28@reddit
Until I get answers that say otherwise, Ill stick to believing in facts and statistics. If I were you, I would have stopped commenting a while ago. This is just embarassing.
Actual_Box7731@reddit
search up the most popular sport in China please.
driftstyle28@reddit
Please shut up already. You really are a stubborn one...
Actual_Box7731@reddit
Dude this is google trends which are not even used in China and Chat Gpt is known to be biased like i can make chat gpt say my mom is more famous than Messi globally. Stop being delsuional and do some resreach on what is the biggest sport in China by far, again even in your country Basketball dwarfs Tennis in popularity same goes with China. https://www.iroamly.com/china-travel/most-popular-sport-in-china.html
driftstyle28@reddit
It isn't ChatGPT but Deepseek, which is in fact... Chinese... Your arguments are getting more and more pathetic.
Actual_Box7731@reddit
im sending you actual relevant sources and not Deepseek and chat gpt dude, there is no WAY you think Tennis is bigger than Basketball in China like no way someone can be this delusional!
driftstyle28@reddit
The question is NOT which sport is bigger in China, the question IS "Is Novak Djokovic the most famous athlete globally coming from the Balkans?" which he obviously IS.
Actual_Box7731@reddit
yeah sure live off google trends delusions, again Tennis is a minor sport for Djokovic to be more globally famous to Basketball and Football balkan stars.
soulhunterrai@reddit (OP)
Holy Shi I get you are biased towards nole but this amount of delusional is insane
pxxhs@reddit
What am I missing here? Was the question who is most famous ahtlete or most popular sport?
soulhunterrai@reddit (OP)
So if jokic one of the best basketball players in the world (if not the best) isn't more famous thsn nole globally while basketball being top 3 most popular sports globally then idk... Even in serbia basketball is way more popular than tennis probably the most popular there.
Ronaldinjchina@reddit
ÄokoviÄ is probably the most famous, but using google trends isn't really a good way of comparing as it's often just people checking the results of matches.
fileanaithnid@reddit
I would say he definitely was but now id gues DonÄiÄ
Far_Firefighter7602@reddit
If you count Zlatan, he would be more famous than the rest of the top 5 combined.
But considering he is diaspora then it would be 1 Modric, 2 Djokovic, 3 Jokic/Doncic. Like Nole might be a bit more known than Modric in maybe India or China, but it would be trivial compared to how much more well known Modric would be in the football crazy part of the world.
Mako2401@reddit
Jokic is more famous than Djokovic, essentially basketball is more popular as a sport than tennis.
eferalgan@reddit
Not where I live
Actual_Box7731@reddit
true
eferalgan@reddit
I guess Nadia Comaneci is still GOAT
SpartanKing76@reddit
Active_Unit_9498@reddit
In for civilized and balanced discussion.
Actual_Box7731@reddit
Globally? Nah, Luka Modric is bigger, Nikola Jokic is bigger and Zlatan Ibrahimovic (if we count him as a someone coming from the balkans).
Designer-Touch9263@reddit
What the actual fuck
Actual_Box7731@reddit
?
Designer-Touch9263@reddit
??
Actual_Box7731@reddit
no way you think Djokovic is globally more famous than Jokic Giannis Modric Ibra and Guler, in Serbia he prolly is not worldwide tho.
ReffyJeffy@reddit
You masivly underestimate tennis' popularity worldwide. Majority of people only like the memes that come out of the NBA. I'm convinced that people who claim to "prefer" basketball never actually watched a full game live. I mean, who tf would stay up until 4am to watch that shit.
Actual_Box7731@reddit
not even you believe in this bs lmao.
soulhunterrai@reddit (OP)
My dude if you think tennis is more popular than football and basketball worldwide idk what to tell you š
Designer-Touch9263@reddit
Guler? Are u crazy? Arda Guler? Change drugs, Im talking about this part of comment.
jotakajk@reddit
I am from Madrid. If Arda Guler and Djokovic walked side by side in the street, nobody would pay attention to Guler
Designer-Touch9263@reddit
Thank you for this comment brother, respect.
jotakajk@reddit
Nole is very respected here. Great duels with Nadal and Alcaraz. One of the best athletes ever
Designer-Touch9263@reddit
Here in Serbia too, Nadal and Nole are two of three best tennis players in the world, Alcaraz is on great way to become star too, he already achived many things...
Psyche3019@reddit
Yes typical delusion. Guler has achieved nothing so far. I would order them as ÄokoviÄ, IbrahimoviÄ, JokiÄ, DonÄiÄ, ModriÄ
asdsadnmm1234@reddit
Point is "famous", not achieved so basically Arda is probably more famous because football itself is very famous.
Painkiller94@reddit
Im just gonna add this: āwho the fuck is Guler?ā. This is about how famous he is.
driftstyle28@reddit
Yeah, he is more famous than all of them together.
KingKlay11@reddit
Guler? stop it lmaoo. Canāt even crack the starting 11 and you expect him to be more famous than the GOAT of tennis.
Far_Estimate_5861@reddit
But who gives a f about tennis thought
Live-Role7096@reddit
How is Arda GĆ¼ler a Balkan person if he was born in Ankara. Come on now guys, who are you making a fool of. Ankara is literally in ANATOLIA. Since when are Anatolia and Balkan the same region, werent the same even in Ottoman times.
barracuda4848@reddit
From mentioned, only Ibrahimovic can compare with him and maybe, maybe Luka, only in present time. But just to compare. There is no way bball players that ain't in top 5 ever, can be in same sentence with tennis GOAT. They can't compare with Roger and Rafa. GOATs are just incomparable. Everyone knows, Ronnie O'Sullivan, Tyger Woods, Muhamed Ali, even those who never watched a single match of their sports. I relly doubt that some housewife from USA that doesn't follow sports know for Luka Modric. Or does one from UK knows for Jokic? Otherwise Djoko is basic knowledge. All respects to all of those legends, but no one is bigger than Novak rn. Maybe we in Balkans got used to him, because he is like "one of us", but do we really know how "big" he is?
soulhunterrai@reddit (OP)
https://www.topendsports.com/world/lists/popular-sport/fans.htm the most popular sports globally in 2025. So is Djokovic really more globally popular than football and basketball stars from the Balkans? No way.
barracuda4848@reddit
So we talking about most popular sports or most famous sportsman? In this text they used criteria like number of fans and number of people who watching. But you as OP asked who is most famous. Most famous means most recognizable. You don't have to be tennis fan to know who Djokovic is. While Modric is "just" one of best fballers in history, Djokovic is tennis. It is almost impossible to know for tennis as sport and to not know for Novak. Yes, soccer is by far most popular sport, but individual sports, from the otherside, gives you bigger impact.
soulhunterrai@reddit (OP)
So you actually believe that Djokovic is globally more famous than someone like Jokic who is one of the best basketball players in the world if not the best in a sport that is top 3 most popular sports in the world, or doncic who plays for the Lakers the most popular basketball club in the world, or modric who won a balon dor? Come on dude...
barracuda4848@reddit
Way more famous imo. Doncic? This looks like a joke to me tbh Anyway we can't prove anything to each other. There is no such a metric for being famous š¤·āāļø
soulhunterrai@reddit (OP)
Some objectivity please... Lakers are literally bigger than Djokovic himself in terms of global popularity and Doncic is a super star who plays there...
barracuda4848@reddit
While everyone knows Lakers as a club, do you really think that people who are not basketball fans knows who plays for Lakers? Except maybe for James. For example, my sister knows for Lebron James bcs he is ultra popular, but she have no idea in which club he is playing and also she doesn't know for a single Lakers player.
Actual_Box7731@reddit
delusional asf, Basketball and Football on a global scale are way bigger than Tennis. Like come on dude Jokic has more fans in Asia than Djokovic has globally.
KingKlay11@reddit
Novak has a lot of fans in Asia too. You do know he was sponsored by UNIQLO before, right? And he studies Chinese which has given him an immense amount of recognition globally. On top of the many other languages he speaks.
soulhunterrai@reddit (OP)
Novak 100% doesn't have the motion that basketball stars do in Asia lol.
KingKlay11@reddit
You might wanna take a look at how they treat him over there
soulhunterrai@reddit (OP)
My dude do you know how big Basketball is in Asia? Geniune question it has bilion+ of fans I doubt tennis even has that globally.
KingKlay11@reddit
Oh lord lmao canāt argue with you š
soulhunterrai@reddit (OP)
You are very delusional if you think Novak is more popular in Asia than basketball stars.
KingKlay11@reddit
You donāt even know your own question that you asked lmaoo. Iām talking about Balkan people here. Not basketball in general
soulhunterrai@reddit (OP)
Yeah jokic giannis doncic modric ibra are athletes from Balkan who are all more famous than Djokovic globally.
KingKlay11@reddit
Absolutely not š the man is the GOAT of tennis. None of those dudes you named are GOATS. Nor are they multilingual like him. JokiÄ isnāt even more famous than Novak in his own country
soulhunterrai@reddit (OP)
You realize basketball dwarfs tennis in popularity in Serbia right? I don't need to mention how much basketball is popular than tennis worldwide... You prob are a type of a guy who thinks that Djokovic is even more famous thsn Michael Jordan or Messi...
Milan_Leri@reddit
You might wanna check your stats
soulhunterrai@reddit (OP)
Ofc you use worldatlas 2010 data list and not 2024/2025 data list https://www.topendsports.com/world/lists/popular-sport/fans.htm
Milan_Leri@reddit
Because 2025 is not relevant when you talk about Djokovic. Since Nadal and Federer retired and Djokovic is on the decline and Sinner doping scandal, popularity of men's tennis is on the decline. Golden era of tennis was 2010-2016. And even then, people who weren't fans of tennis knew about the big 3. I would argue that even 2010 was less relevant than the years that followed, because tennis was most popular at the peak of big 3 rivalry, and 2010 was just the begining of it. Also, we are talking about tennis goat, and compare him to player that is best in this decade, but not that excited about self promotion and not very marketable.He's not even most popular player in NBA right now after 5 amazing seasons. It's just who he is.
soulhunterrai@reddit (OP)
So you really think Djokovic is more famous globally than someone like Doncic who plays for the Lakers the most popular basketball club in the world. And modric who won a balon dor?
Milan_Leri@reddit
Modric us the least famous ballon d'or winner. It's not like he's CR7, Messi or R9 level famous. Doncic just got to Lakers. He does have a chance of becoming more famous, just because of the Lakers marketing power.
It's like comparing MJ and let's say Garrincha. One was generational great tallent in the most popular sport, other is undisputed GOAT in a sport that is also very popular.
KingKlay11@reddit
Someone with a brain has entered this chat
soulhunterrai@reddit (OP)
Outdated list dude check other ones. This one is from 2010 data
KingKlay11@reddit
We talking Balkan people and you bring up MJ and Messi. I canāt ššš
soulhunterrai@reddit (OP)
Yeah I alr told you about Balkan people all of the ones I named are more popular than nole globally. I mean thats kinda something you cannot really argue against because tennis compared to football and basketball popularity is funny. But okay everyone has opinions i respect it
Psyche3019@reddit
Basketball is almost non existent in Indian subcontinent. And Indian subcontinent has three of the most populated countries.
soulhunterrai@reddit (OP)
I swear that Stephen curry shoes in Asia or Kobe Bryant or Jordan shoes alone are more famous thsn tennis, and any tennis player.
KingKlay11@reddit
Is Stephen Curry Balkan? Is Kobe Balkan? We are talking about most famous athlete from the Balkans.
barracuda4848@reddit
You're talking about fans. But the question is who is most famous, not who has most fans. No doubt they have more fans, but rn (and in next 20 years especially) no way that more people knows for Modric and Jokic than Djokovic.
geniuslogitech@reddit
JokiÄ and ÄokoviÄ are most popular worldwide because they are rly popular in China which is a huge market, while I agree than Giannis is as popular in other markets he just isn't popular in South East Asia mainly because of his skin color... they are low key racist + they idolize white men
DrBoomsNephew@reddit
Bro put in Arda Guler in there lmao
jotakajk@reddit
Not even in Madrid is Arda Guler more famous than Djokovic
BalkanViking007@reddit
There is actually a swedish reporter going to zlatans family home in zadar to interview his cousin stipe. This stipe was drinking jack daniels, smoking cigg and shouting the entire interview. I think we are safe to say he is balkan
Traditional_Pick7797@reddit
Who is Luka modric?
Actual_Box7731@reddit
Unable-Stay-6478@reddit
Globally, yes. ÄokoviÄ is more popular than JokiÄ, DonÄiÄ or ModriÄ.
kimi_no_na-wa@reddit
Football is wayyyy bigger than Tennis globally.
Unable-Stay-6478@reddit
Doesn't matter what sport is more popular... do you know who is Tiger Woods?
isilovac@reddit
Instagram, although not a perfect measurement
ÄokoviÄ -16,1 M ModriÄ - 39 M
Football is way bigger sport. He won Balon d'or, played in WC finals, has like 6 champion leagues, played for 10+ years in the biggest club and sports brand in the world.
Idc, but ModriÄ could be more popular
No_Stomach_2341@reddit
Modric and Djokovic aren't even in the same universe of popularity and success. I'm closer to Modric as a nobody than Modric to Djokovic.. Come on bro, he was literally the most talked person on Earth during good part of the pandemicĀ
inevitable_entropy13@reddit
this sub has basically just become serbs coping for superiority š
Unable-Stay-6478@reddit
And yet Tiger Woods has like 3-4 million followers.
ZeistyZeistgeist@reddit
Yes, but simultaneously - it is way harder for a football player than a tennis player to have such global recognition - you have to account for the fact that football is not that followed in the US, unlike tennis, and because tennis is played in singles or doubles, it is easier for a singular player to achieve recognition.
In football - fowards are those who have the biggest star power globally. Messi and Ronaldo, the two players with arguably the biggest global recognition, are fowards. ModriÄ is a mid-fieldler, and while ModriÄ has enough star power that nearly all casual football rans know his name, Messi and Ronaldo have star power enough that even those who do not follow football at all know their names.
Invisible_Cnt@reddit
themantwelve@reddit
case for greatest athlete of all time
superape100@reddit
Football is way more popular so iād say ibrahimovic, modric or xhaka. No tennis or basketball player comes close to the level of fame a footballer has around the world
soulhunterrai@reddit (OP)
Well idk about xhaka ngl deffo not him. But ibra and modric for sure basketball players too. (both basketball and football are top 3 most popular sports globally today in 2025 https://www.topendsports.com/world/lists/popular-sport/fans.htm)
superape100@reddit
Basketball isnāt popular worldwide like football is. You can ask a 10 year old in most places in the world and theyāll know most of the football players
soulhunterrai@reddit (OP)
Depends bro basketball is more popular than football in North America East Asia and Oceania. Some countries in Europe too but yeah football is more popular overall
Gli_ce_rolj@reddit
Yeah, no shit.
Capital-Ad-3795@reddit
nope, Modric is.Ā
Giogio_5555@reddit
Just to give an anecdotal example, as someone that lives in Australia with a multitude of expats in the office, I can vouch that no one would have no idea of who Modric is. The same cannot be said about Djokovic, and time doesnt favour Modric either. People will still be mentioning Djokovic stats in 20 years time.
Sasquale@reddit
You're taking reference from one of the few countries that football isn't popular.
Imaginary_String_814@reddit
India / US / China ? and were talking about the goat of tennis compared to some decent soccer player.
Modric is no messi nor even in the goat debate by any means in football. Not a single person who doesnt follow knows modric most likely.
Capital-Ad-3795@reddit
yeah, and the world is way more than Australia or US. football is the number one sports by far in whole world and Modric is among the best players.
AstronomerCold8131@reddit
Modric isn't even best in football
Dizzy_Arachnid4292@reddit
Football is by far the most popular sport across the world, the 24th best footballer in the world is probably more known than the number 1 volleyball or waterpolo player, its just sheer numbers.
Playing the World Cup final alone creates a case for Luka as its watched by over 1 billion people.
Painkiller94@reddit
Itās not about how many people saw him. We are speaking globaly. Modric is among legends in football but that goes barely across europe. If i ask my family, only the father as football fan would know him. DjokoviÄ just dominates in ābeeing seenā. Australia, China, USAā¦
Dizzy_Arachnid4292@reddit
I guess it depends on how you define "more known" and also the nature of the sport, team sports vs singular.
Nole is the goat in his sport, him Nadal and Federer are a league of their own. ModriÄ is among the best but not on the same level as Ronaldo or Messi.
Ofc football is bigger so it levels out. Nole has more searches on Google and more news coverage (don't have a stat on this, but he probably does). Modric has more social media followers and views. Djokovic is bigger in the US, Australia, China, LM in South America, Africa, Europe is even I guess.
You could make a case for both honestly, those who say one of them are way ahead are biased imo
CajOdShamarelice@reddit
Question was who was most famous, not who's the best at their sport
blacktoise@reddit
He won the fucking Ballon DāOr
Imaginary_String_814@reddit
Nobody who donāt follow football has ever heard of modric, he is not a Messi. Just some good playerĀ
Djokovic is arguably the goat in tennis.
vlatkovr@reddit
Lol, no he isn't
Amazing_Scholar5178@reddit
Luka ModriÄ
danny_the_dog1337@reddit
I say Zlatan IbrahimoviÄ is more famous
tommyno5@reddit
Luka Modric
Responsible_Bed763@reddit
No.
pdonchev@reddit
Spartacus - that's actually a very relevant answer, it's just probably not what OP meant under "athlete"
Cristiano Ronaldo - somebody mentioned it and I lived it.
Djokovic - without any doubt the goat at the moment
Doncic - maybe when Djokovic retires he will quickly take over.
Not really:
Modric - for most of the world he was one time star, far from the ones listed above unpopularity. Still an amazing player, one of the best, but even Van Basten wasn't that popular despite being practically a god of soccer.
Stoichkov - at some point far back he probably was the most popular, but he was faded quite a bit in the past two decades.
geniuslogitech@reddit
JokiÄ is more popular than ÄokoviÄ in China and way more than DonÄiÄ
pdonchev@reddit
Maybe but that doesn't help his international popularity that much. Population size is not of proportionate importance.
geniuslogitech@reddit
that's just xenophobic
pdonchev@reddit
No, it is absolutely not. "International popularity" means being popular in many countries, not among many people of the same country.
StamatisTzantopoulos@reddit
Jokic and Giannis would be good contenders, me thinks
AogamiBunka@reddit
How is Modric treated or thought of in Croatia today? I understand many people turned their backs on him because of the fraud trial.
OnamoNamo@reddit
soulhunterrai@reddit (OP)
I'm sorry to break it to you. But this is about popularity... Modric Jokic Antetokoumpo Doncic Ibrahimovic are globally more famous than Nole reasons are obvious. Nole is the goat tho š
Clean-Science-8710@reddit
No they are not.Ā
Jokovic is on top for way too long, one of the best athlets of all time, insane popularity in Asia. Modric is very popular but not as near as Djokovic. He is not the guy who stands out in a team like Ronaldo an Bale.Ā
Sorry for the fact Djokovic is Serbian (like it's a crime) but facts are facts
soulhunterrai@reddit (OP)
https://www.topendsports.com/world/lists/popular-sport/fans.htm most popular sports globally as of 2025. Tennis lacks a lot to basketball and football globally...
Clean-Science-8710@reddit
And yet everyone knoes who Jokovic is and not Luka Modric.Ā
There are people who trancended their sport. MJ, Bolt, Tige Woods (i don't know shit about golf but know him)
OnamoNamo@reddit
None of them, not even closeā¦they are successful but not successful enough to be in a debate with Novak. And why do everyone put Ibra into conversation - heās not from Balkans, his parents are. Then letās include greatest handball player of all time time Nikola Karabatic into conversation- he had overall better & more successful career than all of these guys you mentioned
soulhunterrai@reddit (OP)
Again you are talking about success not popularity.
OnamoNamo@reddit
Again we need to take both into account, not just one thing. Thank you for your time
nickmn13@reddit
Success most definitely doesn't equal popularity. Sports have different popularity overall. Half the planet watches football. A tiny percentage of that watches tennis. You can win 10.000 grand slams and a real madrid footballer will still be more well known than you.
OnamoNamo@reddit
A tiny?! Itās a third sport in popularity
soulhunterrai@reddit (OP)
https://www.topendsports.com/world/lists/popular-sport/fans.htm third sport in popularity in what world? (this is 2025 data btw so most recent globally)
OnamoNamo@reddit
Now we come to the part where success does matter & goes with popularity - which cricket player do you know or grass hockey? Probably none or very few which is expectedā¦but tennis players - Iām sure you do know lots of them because itās much more popular in Europe& North America
soulhunterrai@reddit (OP)
Virat kohli?
OnamoNamo@reddit
Wow, one playerā¦thatās fantastic hahaha! Wonder how many tennis players you knowā¦ Anyhow, we donāt have to agree & itās quite fine for you to have you own opinion
soulhunterrai@reddit (OP)
I mean dude even in serbia basketball is way more popular than tennis actually probably the most popular there on a national level. (not saying Djokovic isn't more famous than Jokic in Serbia, but globally?...)
OnamoNamo@reddit
But that doesnāt matter because Novak dominates for almost 2 decades. From 2002 until 2009 or 2010 Serbia had been terrible in basketball & Im saying this as a pure basketball fan (thatās my favorite sport since childhood). I know basketball is a tradition (& Iām glad it had returned as the most popular sport in Serbia) but the trend had been changed for a very long time because Serbian hadnāt been successful in basketball, so thatās why Novak is more (and still) more popular
soulhunterrai@reddit (OP)
šSerbs love Novak a lot so I believe you.
Fine_Ad_8758@reddit
Success ā popularity. You canāt compare any individual athlete to a football player, especially one who spent over 10 years at Real Madrid and played in a World Cup final. If success really meant popularity, then the greatest fencer of all time would be more famous thanā¦ letās say, Shevchenko, but obviously isnāt. Itās all about how popular the sport is.
OnamoNamo@reddit
I donāt agree with u, thereās not football player from Balkans that is even close to Novak, end of story. Tennis in number 3 in popularity globally, itās not that far behind.
electrash_@reddit
1.4ā1.5 billion viewers worldwide - finale nogometnog prvenstva
11.3 million viewers - Wimbledon finale
Not even close
OnamoNamo@reddit
Buraz, lupio si i ostao ziv...
electrash_@reddit
Buraz jes ti glup, ajd sada zbroji te poglede i neces doci preko 20mil za tenis
OnamoNamo@reddit
Kakvo zbrajanje, sta pricas sad ti, sam si bacio cifru i sad ides na neku drugu stranu?! Pride, ovo su racunice za sam finalni mec, tako da opet nisi u pravu. I ne vredjaj, ne budi prostak kad nemas argumente ili ih izbegavas, to sto tenis trenutno nije popularan u Hrvatskoj ili bilo kojoj drugoj balkanskoj zemlji ne znaci da je globalno manje vredan...nece biti u jednom trenutku ni u Srbiji, kada se Novak povuce, pa opet to ne znaci da je taj sport manje vredan globalno.
electrash_@reddit
Stari, znas li prefixe milion i bilion? Skola? Osnovna?
OnamoNamo@reddit
Naravno da znam, a i ti bi trebao znati citati i pokusati shvatiti da se ne radi samo o tome koliko je sport generalno popularan globalno nego i o uspehu sportiste. To sto je Djokovic uradio - nije niti jedan sportista s Balkana. I ne mora to niko odavde shvatiti, ja sam se potrudio da vam objasnim ali ako ne ide Boze moj...
electrash_@reddit
To sto je napravio ne umanjujem. Ima puno lica sa balkana koja su cudo.
Al usporedivat da je tenis malo iza nogometa je suludo. Pa finale league of legendsa ima vise gledatelja nego tenis.
Tour de France je medu velikim eventima po gledanosti i to daleko ispred tenisa
OnamoNamo@reddit
To sto je napravio - nece niko duze vreme napraviti i to je svima jasno. Samo je poetna priznati to sebi ili ne.
Zato sto nesto ne pratis - ne znaci da je manje popularno, pokusaj da to shvatis. Ne pratim ni ja tenis unazad 5 godina - najvise volim kosarku i trebao bih na toj osnovi forsirati Jokica npr, ali sam svestan da je tenis popularan i da su uspesi sportista iz drugih sportova neuporedivid s Novakovim.
AdelphicHitter4514@reddit
Nadia ComÄneci, Hagi
wojaksmojak@reddit
Zlatan
jimhellas@reddit
Antetokounmpo is also pretty famous and he was born and raised in Greece.
Alexandre_cmrd@reddit
Ibrahimovic
TightBlueHeadband@reddit
Stoickchov
Reasonable-Curve3657@reddit
Who?
seanugengar@reddit
Well, I mean. You have Jokic, Antetokoumpo, Doncic. I am not saying they are the best or better from Djokovic. But in the general public, id say they are more recognizable and thus more famous
geniuslogitech@reddit
out of JokiÄ, Giannis and DonÄiÄ only JokiÄ is rly famous in South East Asia, Giannis probably isn't because of his skin color, they are low key racists, ÄokoviÄ is also famous in China specifically so he probably is more popular globally than DonÄiÄ and Giannis for that reason, "the West" togethere has like 1.2b population, meanwhile China alone 1.4b+
Remarkable_Put9932@reddit
Modric did not hit ref with a ball and got himself disqualified, Modric does not act like a psycho when things don't go his way, Modric is not a diver and floper, Modric does not argue with the crowd, crowd salutes Modric even in away games opposed to you know who so on so forth...
Professional_Move324@reddit
Djokovic is huge in china but djokovic is known by americans and europeans aswell
Jokic is huge in america and europe
Doncic- same as jokic
Modric is known globally but not really huge anywhere(gvardiol gonna be next modric in that view)
Most impactful? Theres no debate its djokovic
orestaras@reddit
Maybe Modric?
Ok_Stretch_405@reddit
Many said it already, Modric.Ā
vlatkovr@reddit
Freaking balkan, just because you're Albanian you don't have to be against Serbia for every stupid little thing.
Or maybe you live ina football bubble. There are many many people that haven't even heard of Modric.
Ok_Stretch_405@reddit
Sorry! I take it back, Xhaka is the most famous!! Who is even Modric
DrBoomsNephew@reddit
Actually fucking it, let's go with Shaqiri instead :D
Ok_Stretch_405@reddit
Sorry! I take it back, Xhaka is the most famous!! Who is even Modric
minkadominka@reddit
Nah
gemcey@reddit
Few people where I live know who he is. Itās either Luka or Nole.
nickmn13@reddit
Where do you live exactly that people dont watch football ?
Unable-Stay-6478@reddit
ModriÄ is only popular in Europe.
Ok_Stretch_405@reddit
You bet in Africa tennis is most popular sport š
Unable-Stay-6478@reddit
Dude, tennis ain't even most popular in Serbia but ÄokoviÄ is still no. 1
Ok_Stretch_405@reddit
Mate, Serbia is not in Africa. I never doubted Jokovic being n.1 in Serbia.
DrBoomsNephew@reddit
Novak basically because Tennis has like 3-4 guys for decades that get pushed and he was/is basically the best of all time. Modric and Jokic aren't that big, because they're rather reserved athletes. Doncic can definitely overtake Djokovic because he's more outgoing and plays for the Lakers.
Btw scratch all that - the most famous Balkan athlete is Zlatan Ibrahimovic, even if much of the world doesn't know he's Balkan.
cdelachilogram@reddit
By far
mermigx@reddit
Dražen PetroviÄ... Stiil a legend 32 years later after his death. ( At least in Greece)
Wonderful-Bat-5897@reddit
Luka ModriÄ
Timalakeseinai@reddit
Giannis Antetokounmpo joined the chat
Ok_Beyond_4993@reddit
the president of anti-vaxxers too
John__Warhammer@reddit
Nobody gives a fuck
Ok_Beyond_4993@reddit
oh you must be the vp. jebise.
John__Warhammer@reddit
But but muh vaccine,go jab urself in the eye with it, dirty little manlet
John__Warhammer@reddit
Im the guy that skull fucked ur mom, jebem ti mamu retardirani
GoodZealousideal5922@reddit
SERBS ALREADY CHANGING THE TOPIC šš
Raia12@reddit
Yeah guys don't want to talk about their national team losing. Shocking. /s
GoodZealousideal5922@reddit
They were hyping this match for a whole year. But it is typical Serb fashion to hype themselves up, get blown up, lose, and then pretend like nothing happened.
Imaginary_String_814@reddit
It was hyped on the basis that some shit will go down probably and not about the quality of the match.
Serbias football team is notoriously badĀ
Raia12@reddit
Bro š
nickmn13@reddit
To be fair, there are at least 2 Serbian athletes that are more.popular than any Albanian athlete thay has ever lived (and probably ever live).
Similar_Interview509@reddit
Ibra is bigger
Tiny-Mulberry-2114@reddit
Probably ModriÄ. If you go to a tribe in the middle of the Amazon they are more likely to know of ModriÄ than Novak Djokovic even though Djokovic is the GOAT of tennis but football is simply bigger.
Imaginary_String_814@reddit
And in china/india/us ?Ā
you think anyone knows modric there, this is hilarious to even claim as if modric is some Messi
Tiny-Mulberry-2114@reddit
This is in Madagascar when Grand Tour crew were there.
Far_Estimate_5861@reddit
Good eye!
Tiny-Mulberry-2114@reddit
tnx but someone else noticed it years ago when it aired and posted it on r/croatia and now I remembered it
scuberl@reddit
NoVacc Djocovid refused to be vaccinated. Period.
KralGalatasaray@reddit
Modric popularized the croatian checkered kit. Has to be him
MatchAltruistic5313@reddit
It was quite popular before that. Croatia reached 3rd place in the FIFA world cup in 1998, so a lot of eyes were on the checkerboard pattern. Davor Å uker, Robert ProsineÄki, Zvonimir Boban were all famous players at the time.
Other than that, Mirko FilipoviÄ CroCop had a huge presence in MMA and kickboxing. Goran IvaniÅ”eviÄ was remembered in tennis as the only player that ever won the Wimbledon title as a wild card. Janica KosteliÄ is one of the best female skiers ever - a 4 time Olympic gold medalist. Blanka VlaÅ”iÄ was a famous high jumper. And so on.
dimiteddy@reddit
He is. Luka Doncic may surpass him
Actual_Box7731@reddit
ngl without any offense to Djokovic, but i think Doncic has more fans in Asia alone than Djokovic has globally (Lakers is the biggest basketball club in the world with insane popularity everywhere especially Asia).
Senior-Profession711@reddit
ÄokoviÄ is often among the most searched athletes on Google worldwide. His statements about COVID-19 were headline news in global media. DonÄiÄ has no NBA titles and has never been an MVP.
https://www.olympics.com/en/news/damar-hamlin-kylian-mbappe-novak-djokovic-top-10-most-searched-athletes-of-2023-revealed .
soulhunterrai@reddit (OP)
https://www.topendsports.com/world/lists/popular-sport/fans.htm basketball is way ahaed of tennis in popularity worldwide today (2025 data)
gemcey@reddit
Already has
Puzzled_Muzzled@reddit
Giannis Antetokounmpo
Actual_Box7731@reddit
Deffo i forgot to mention him alongside Jokic Modric Ibra.
blacktoise@reddit
What about Doncic
soulhunterrai@reddit (OP)
Yes him too probably cause basketball is way ahaed in popularity compared to tennis globally today https://www.topendsports.com/world/lists/popular-sport/fans.htm (2025)
OkBuffalo315@reddit
Never heard of him, not trolling, just saying, donāt even know what sport he plays
PlayfulMountain6@reddit
With that surname and skin color i doubt anyone in the world would say that he come from Balkans š
Puzzled_Muzzled@reddit
Surname is long and unpronounceable as every Greek surname and has the same skin colour as everyone working under the Greek sun at the beach bars. Signed by Andreas Papachristodoulopoulos
TheyCallHimBabaYagaa@reddit
PlayfulMountain6@reddit
Hahaha, it doesnt match with nigerian sun by the way
Puzzled_Muzzled@reddit
He eats tzatziki with 2 spoons. He is more Greek than me
lessismore6@reddit
Heās only known among basketball fans, and if weāre mentioning him, we shouldnāt forget Jokic. But Iāve heard of Modric even though Iām not into football coz you know football is more popular worldwide.
Actual_Box7731@reddit
hes deffo not only known among basketball fans
Actual_Aside_2862@reddit
Modric. No need to say more.
Specializesinnothing@reddit
Tsitsipas is better not more famous but better
Particular_Rub_9329@reddit
i would say ibrahimovic. that guy is not a single percentile swedish, he is 100% balkan. through and through. the way he talks and behaves, 10000% balkan ahahahaha
BakiSaN@reddit
Djokovic is easily one of greatest athletes not just tennis players, so yeah that is an easy one
Cautious-Passage-597@reddit
In my opinion yes. He's the goat of Balkan.
LegioX89@reddit
By far
Wishart2016@reddit
Him or Modric
Satyriasis457@reddit
Croatian football team had some good players 15 or 20 years agoĀ
Zookeeper187@reddit
Djokovic
PlayfulMountain6@reddit
Did Novak has any word for the match today or now he is speechless
Raia12@reddit
Idk why a literal millionaire would care even.
Ok_Stretch_405@reddit
Being milliinare does not make him god
VladimirLogos@reddit
So many ruins in the comment section denying an obvious reality lol Remember he won the Olympic gold and the Olympics is the 2nd most watched event after the FIFA World Cup. People arguing for Modric cause of the World Cup don't even have that argument. Then there's Laureus, multiple wins over the then more famous players like Federer and Nadal, millions of views on YouTube, social media presence, COVID controversy which was extensively covered globally, charity work
There's no contest
phase3profits@reddit
Jokic, Doncic?
atakanberkbrant@reddit
Probably yes but i'm pretty sure that Modric is much more known in all the countries where football is popular
RammRras@reddit
Unfortunately people world wide I don't think they know he's from the Balkans
Mindless-Key7694@reddit
How about Yianis
Turbulent-Debate7661@reddit
It depends. Giannis Antetokounbo is very famous, jokic as well, luka modric as well, doncic. There are a lot equally famous
Pamisos@reddit
Definitely.
defnotachicken@reddit
Its Modric while also Dzeko is up there somewhere. Footballs fan base is much much larger than any other sport/organisation.
soulhunterrai@reddit (OP)
Dzeko isn't bigger than Jokic or Giannis. Modric is because he played in Madrid
defnotachicken@reddit
Think about like this lets say there is 1000 people on earth and 500 of them watch football and the rest watches the other sports. Someone in the top 1% of football is known by much more people than lets say someone who is from top 0.1% of tennis.
kimi_no_na-wa@reddit
That may be true but Dzeko simply isn't that well known.
defnotachicken@reddit
I mean he is in top 10 most goals scored for active footballer's and he is playing for like 20 years. Even my grandpa who is not much into football knows him, of course it is not a reliable source but it is a point of view.
Psyche3019@reddit
He is world class striker.
soulhunterrai@reddit (OP)
This methodology is worse than i thought
oduzmi@reddit
No lol
bunaciunea_lumii@reddit
That would be SpartacusĀ
Aromatic_Wasabi_864@reddit
RegularOrdinary9875@reddit
By results he accomplished yes 100%. By overall fame, probably not. Older generation loves Federer or Nadal more, newer generation has newer players. Modric (silly baloon dor winner) or jokic/doncic might be bigger in term of fame. Ibrahimovic is no doubt but he is not Bosnian but Swedish officially
Giogio_5555@reddit
Just to give an anecdotal example, as someone that lives in Australia with a multitude of other expats in the office, I can vouch that no one would have any idea of who Modric is. The same cannot be said about Djokovic, and time doesnt favour Modric either. People will still be mentioning Djokovic stats in 20 years time.
lukalux3@reddit
I asked ChatGPT and it said yes. xD
Billarasgr@reddit
Nikos Vamvakoulas! š«µš»
barracuda4848@reddit
But the question is who is most famous, not who has most fans. No doubt they have more fans, but rn and in next 20 years no way that more people knows for Modric and Jokic than Djokovic.
ernestbonanza@reddit
drazen petrovic š«¶
vincedarling@reddit
Jokic is certainly the most famous in America at least.
IcyStatement4032@reddit
Itās either him, Luka Modric, Giannis, Luka Doncic, or Nikola Jokic.Ā
siromasni-carevic@reddit
Famous not, but the best for shure
reriser@reddit
Apparently heās Czech now /s