Rangers star Jermain Defoe has fared extremely well in a recent YouGov survey.
In a poll taken last year which involved interviews with over 7000 people, the 37-year-old was found to be the UK’s fourth ‘most popular contemporary football player.’
73% of those interviewed has heard of Defoe, 35% had a positive view of the player in comparison to 8% negative, while 30% were neutral.
Those stats place him only behind Harry Kane, Lionel Messi and Gareth Bale in the table.
Remarkably, it leaves him statistically more popular than world stars like Cristiano Ronaldo (6th), Mo Salah (7th) and Zlatan Ibrahimovic (28th).
Defoe has had a 20-year professional career scoring goals up and down the land for six different UK clubs. Being in the public eye for so long has likely contributed to his lofty position here.
His off-field activities are also likely to have played a part. He has been heavily involved in charity and received an OBE in 2018 for his services to the Jermain Defoe Foundation.
The England international striker only arrived at Ibrox in January, on loan from Bournemouth.
Yet, he’s very much a favourite of the Ibrox faithful due to his prowess in front of goal. He has 12 strikes to his name from 14 appearances this season [Soccerbase] after scoring an impressive hat-trick against Hamilton at the weekend.
