Kind of a big deal: Cristiano Ronaldo edges ahead of Shakira to claim title of most Facebook likes

Although the debate rages on over who is the greatest football player in the world, it seems as though the world of social media has chosen a clear favourite.

Edging ahead of music superstar Shakira, Real Madrid and Portugal winger Cristiano Ronaldo's popularity on the social networking site has risen to an impressive 107,134,702 likes, with the glamourous pair way out ahead of hip-hop mogul Eminem in third.

Ronaldo's arch nemesis, Barcelona and Argentina striker Lionel Messi, is way behind the leader, with a paltry 78 million likes, while former Real Madrid man David Beckham and Messi's Barca teammate Neymar sneak inside the top 30, virtually neck and neck with around 52 million blue thumbs clicked respectively.

The Portugal skipper now finds himself sitting fourth in terms of the highest likes across the entire social networking site with more likes than his own club Real Madrid, whose page sits 11th with 82 million likes - just behind arch rivals FC Barcelona.

Ronaldo may not be too happy with his performance on the football field as of late, with performances stuttering and goals drying up, but he should be cheered by the obsession he has stirred across social media. Not only is Facebook buzzing for the superstar, the Twittersphere also contains a massive 34 million followers hanging off his every shared thought.

This ranks the football star first in terms of Twitter followers among athletes with former Real Madrid teammate Ricardo Kaka lagging behind on 22.3 million followers.

Australia's very own football legend Tim Cahill's Facebook profile following offers a sturdy 380,000 likes in response.

Australia's top-ranked batsman Glenn Maxwell tops the Australian contingent on 3,073,514, coming in at 169, having been boosted by an impressive World Cup showing this month.