See list of the 50 greatest Sportsmen in the 21st century, Messi is ranked above Ronaldo

American former competitive, successful and most decorated Olympic swimmer of all time with a total of 28 medals, Michael Phelps has been named the greatest sportsman of the 21st century.

In a ranking compiled by Spanish outlet Marca which defines athletes within the last 20 years, Phelps who won 8 gold medals at the 2008 Olympic games in Beijing tops the list of 50.

Football star Lionel Messi is ranked ahead of his rival Cristiano Ronaldo while on the boxing front, just two boxers Manni Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather made the list.

Check out the entire top 50 below.

1. Sebastian Loeb (Rally Car)
2. Conor McGregor (MMA) 48. Alejandro Valverde (Cycling)
3. Dirk Nowitzki (Basketball)
4. Fernando Alonso (Formula One)
5. David Rudisha (Athletics) 44. Fabian Cancellara (Cycling)
6. Barry Bonds (Baseball) 42. Daniel Dias (Adapted Swimming)
7. Bradley Wiggins (Cycling)
8. Alistair Brownlee (Triathlon)
9. Stephane Peterhansel (Rally Car)
10. Ian Thorpe (Swimming) 37. Andres Iniesta (Football) 36. Ricardinho (Futsal)
11. Vincenzo Nibali (Cycling) 34. Hicham El Guerrouj (Athletics)
12. Sebastian Vettal (Formula One)
13. Shaquille O’Neal (Basketball)
14. Kelly Slater (Surfing)
15. Floyd Mayweather (Boxing)
16. Alberto Contador (Cycling)
17. Tim Duncan (Basketball) 27. Kenenisa Bekele (Athletics)
18. Teddy Riner (Judo)
19. Zinedine Zidane (Football)
20. Nikola Karabatic (Handball)
21. Kohei Uchimura (Artistic Gymnastics)
22. Ronaldinho (Football) 21. Marcel Hirscher (Skiing) 20. Kilian Jornet (Mountain Running)
23. Ronaldo Nazario (Football)
24. Tom Brady (American Football)
25. Chris Froome (Cycling) 16. Manny Pacquiao (Boxing)
26. Lebron James (Basketball)
27. Eliud Kipchoge (Athletics)
28. Michael Schumacher (Formula One)
29. Marc Marquez (Motorcycling)
30. Novak Djokovic (Tennis) 10. Cristiano Ronaldo (Football)
31. Valentino Rossi (Motorcycling)
32. Lewis Hamilton (Formula One)
33. Lionel Messi (Football)
34. Tiger Woods (Golf)
35. Kobe Bryant (Basketball) 4. Rafael Nadal (Tennis)
36. Roger Federer (Tennis)
37. Usain Bolt (Athletics)
38. Michael Phelps (Swimming)