Messi, Ronaldo favourites of Indian fans, reveals survey

Although Argentina and Portugal exited early from the football World Cup 2018, Lionel Messi and Christiano Ronaldo remain the favourites of Indian sports fans while Neymar and Modric are second and third place respectively.

These are the findings of a survey released by Indian Sports Fan, India's largest online sports fan community. The survey further reveals that Croatia are the fans' choice to win the FIFA World Cup.

The survey is a result of 5,403 fan respondents in the age group of 13 to 47 years, who participated in the online fan poll from across the world. Restricted to Indian origin respondents only, the survey accounted for 23 percent female respondents and 77 percent male respondents.

While Messi got an overwhelming support from the eastern and southern regions, Ronaldo was a clear winner in the metropolitan cities. Messi remained at the top spot with 39 percent fan votes followed by Christiano Ronaldo with 28 percent.

England striker Harry Kane was fourth with 10 percent and Neymar, who slipped from the third position, now rests at fifth with nine percent votes. The third spot is secured by Croatia's Modric with 14 percent votes.

The favourite team of the tournament is Argentina with a staggering 47 percent votes followed by Brazil at 27 percent and France at 21.

--IANS

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