The Portuguese international was placed at number one of the ranking compiled by Athletes Done Good and received a special mention for raising money for various causes, including donating more than 83,000 US dollars to a 10-year-old fan in need of brain surgery.
He also gave more than 165,000 dollars to fund a cancer centre in Portugal that treated his mother. No footballers from the Premier League feature in the top 20, which placed WWF wrestler John Cena at number two, followed by Serena Williams.
The only other footballer on the list is Barcelona’s Brazilian star, Neymar, while All Black fly-half Dan Carter is the only rugby player in the top 20 at number 12, while cricket’s only representative is Pakistan’s Shahid Afridi, who comes in at 20.