Profiles of the top 10 most influential football and baseball stars in the world:

Top 10 football stars

Pelé

Nationality: Brazilian

Era: 1950s-1970s

Achievements: The only player to win the World Cup three times (1958, 1962, 1970), with more than 1,000 career goals, officially recognized by FIFA as the "King of the Ball".

Diego Maradona

Nationality: Argentine

Era: 1980s-1990s

Achievements: The creator of the "Hand of God" and the "Goal of the Century" in the 1986 World Cup, led Argentina to win the championship, and was known as the "God of Football" by fans.

Lionel Messi

Nationality: Argentine

Era: 2000s to present

Achievements: 7-time Ballon d'Or winner, 2022 World Cup winner, Barcelona's all-time top scorer, the pinnacle of technical players.

Cristiano Ronaldo

Nationality: Portuguese

Era: 2000s to present

Achievements: Five-time Ballon d'Or winner, Champions League all-time goalscorer, one of the world's most popular social media followers.

Franz Beckenbauer

Nationality: German

Era: 1960s-1970s

Achievement: "The Emperor of Football", pioneered the freeman style of play, and won the World Cup both as a player and as a coach.

Johan Cruyff

Nationality: Dutch

Era: 1970s

Achievement: A symbol of all-attacking and all-defensive football, the founder of Barcelona's modern football philosophy.

Zinedine Zidane

Nationality: French

Era: 1990s-2000s

Achievements: 1998 World Cup winner, Champions League-winning coach, known for his elegant style of play and "Marseille slalom".

Ronaldo Nazário

Nationality: Brazilian

Era: 1990s-2000s

Achievements: Two-time World Cup winner, the youngest World Footballer of the Year in history, and the "Alien" title reflects his breakthrough ability.

Paolo Maldini

Nationality: Italian

Era: 1980s-2000s

Achievements: Legendary AC Milan captain, a representative of the art of defending, playing for only one team in his 25-year career.

by George Best

Nationality: Northern Ireland

Era: 1960s-1970s

Achievement: Manchester United's talented winger, subverting tradition with his dribbling skills, "the most famous man in Britain after the Beatles".

Top 10 Baseball Stars

Babe Ruth

Nationality: American

Era: 1910-1930s

Achievements: The first MLB superstar in history, the record holder for 714 home runs, and the propelling of baseball as a national sport in the United States.

Hank Aaron

Nationality: American

Era: 1950s-1970s

Achievement: 755 home runs in his career (the first in long-term history), a legend that broke the barriers of racial discrimination.

Jackie Robinson

Nationality: American

Era: 1940s-1950s

Achievement: The first black player in the MLB, the No. 42 jersey retired league-wide, a symbol of social equality.

Ted Williams

Nationality: American

Era: 1930s-1960s

Achievement: Career average batting average of .344, last single season over 40% batting average (1941), "God of Strikes".

Lou Gehrig

Nationality: American

Era: 1920s-1930s

Achievement: Record holder for 2,130 consecutive races (broken after 56 years), representative of the spirit of the "Iron Horse".

Willie Mays

Nationality: American

Era: 1950s-1970s

Achievements: 660 home runs, legendary 1954 World Series kills, known as "the most versatile player".

Nolan Ryan

Nationality: American

Era: 1960s-1990s

Achievements: MLB all-time strikeout leader (5,714), record holder for 7 games without a hit.

Derek Jeter

Nationality: American

Era: 1990s-2010s

Achievements: Captain of the New York Yankees, five-time World Series champion, and key figure in MLB's commercial expansion.

Shohei Ohtani

Nationality: Japanese

Era: 2010s to present

Achievement: A rare modern "two-sword" player (pitching and playing double training), an iconic figure of MLB globalization.

Barry Bonds

Nationality: American

Era: 1980s-2000s

Achievement: Career-leading 762 home runs all-time, but became a topic of conversation due to the banned drug controversy.

Football: More focus on global cultural influences (e.g. Maradona's political symbolic significance, Messi/Ronaldo's social media effects).

Baseball: Focuses on the historical status of the Native United States (e.g., Robinson's social significance) and record-breaking (e.g., Ruth, Allen).

Modern trends: Soccer stars have higher commercial value, and baseball has relied on Shohei Ohtani to attract international attention in recent years.