Been an athlete! there is much to the sport than just receiving some fat wages and running on the field while they think on how to embrace the difficulties in order to advance themselves and their team to glory in the end. However, one thing that comes with the job is the constant movement of the player or athletes around the world in search of team and personal glory. 

Taking football for instance, the team plays in the league while they compete with other strong teams on the intercontinental level. If they are lucky to be victorious on intercontinental as all clubs are vying to be the Champion of Europe for instance with the likes of Bayern Munich and Manchester City being the most favorite to travel across the world by December representing Europe in the UEFA Champions League competition at +275 and +450 odds respectively at the top betting sites. 

Globally, these athletes are frequently required to embark on long-haul trans-meridian travel for competition purposes ranging from Olympic Games, IAAF Diamond League Series, FIFA World Cup, Commonwealth, Super Rugby Tournament and many more exposing them to travel fatigue and jet lag despite the tiredness and worrisome attribute, these players still travel some distance to ensure that balance between their family and work is kept intact, while they travel to give back to the community with their charity and other off the field activities to keep their fans acknowledged. 

However, with that in mind, below are the most travelled athletes.

Rafael Nadal

Being among the most celebrated sportsmen on earth, the Spaniard constantly making waves for himself among the greatest tennis players is not such an easy conquest, while he is combining the sport efficiency with his off the field antics. Constantly, Rafael Nadal always makes his presence in all available ATP tournaments while he features in the majors as well. 

The Spaniard is one of the most travelled athletes on earth with his constant domination although he is ahead of the likes of Roger Federer and Novack Djokovic in that arena due to the two omission in some years but the Spaniard will be remembered on most court in the world of tennis throughout the globe for his presence even while he’s not playing, his passion for the game might have compelled him to always graced the competition in person. 

Even while he was rocked with injury setbacks in his bid to win his second Australian in 2021, the veteran Spanish tennis player still had to fight the injury to ensure his presence in one of the most demanding Grand Slam in the world of tennis. Although he might have been defeated in the quarter final but his passion for the game has always been the driving force for his presence in most of his attended competition. 

More importantly, with the likes of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal is equally appealing in his charity, while he is striving to ensure that the younger generations have a chance to take part in the beautiful sport. But the Spanish veteran has travelled the world at estimated 1,067,887 kilometers in the process of dominating the world with his left hand and tenacity. 

Randy Orton 

Randy Orton has been with the WWE since 2000 and is one of the longest active members of the roster in the world of WWE today and at 40 years old, the American wrestler doesn’t have the same busy schedule as he used to, where he had to fly to different cities every night and days in his prime. However, his villain attribute had generated mixed feelings among his fans and the wrestling entertainment industry as a whole. 

Rounding Orton since his debut has always been on the radar of all wrestlers while he travelled around the world making sure that his popularity and pedigree are at the apex, Randy Orton constantly bout around as one of the hottest prospect in the field and till date the American had travelled round the world at an estimated distance of 1,409 111 km throughout his career span.

Lionel Messi 

Being at the apex of the most populous sport for such a long time will only attract more fan base and many off the field activities which the superstar will literally attend to. 

More also, the Barcelona and Argentina talisman have been at the final of the UEFA Champions League on four occasions, at the World cup final once despite participating the competition on four occasions since 2006, the Argentine prodigy has been on final of one competition or the other throughout his career, thus, the Barcelona captain has had to travelled more than average footballer or some elite footballer. 

More importantly, the Argentina international with the most appearance in a Barcelona shirt, while on the verge of being the Argentina most cap senior player, Lionel Messi has the chance highest chance of travelling from one place to another while he represents his national team and Football Club Barcelona on foreign territory.

More so, Messi’s Barcelona hardly receive defeat in the early part of their attended competition while they are on the verge of been beating in the round-16 by Paris Saint Germain in the current UEFA Champions League, which will serve as the first time that Barcelona will be defeated in that round in fourteen years has ensure that the Blaugrana are in final on three occasions, semi final on three occasions as well while at the quarter on seven occasions. 

Without counting the league traveling and the Copa-Del-Rey and other competition in which the distance travelled by Barcelona’s all time highest goal scorer is estimated to be round over three million kilometers.

Cristiano Ronaldo 

Like Lionel Messi, Cristiano is arguably one of the most celebrated sports persons on planet earth with such an illustrious and glittering career to show for his on-field success. While he guided Manchester United to back-to-back UEFA Champions League finals while winning one with the prestigious English team and equaling dragging Real Madrid to four Champions League finals in five years during his 9 years spell at the capital city of Spain. 

Also, the Portuguese had guided his team to many successes while winning the maiden UEFA National League and EURO nations cup as well as guiding his Portugal team to many World cup in the process. The Portuguese legend had been phenomena throughout his career while he travelled across the continent and the world at large doing his world while he also promoted his fashion brand of the field. 

The Portuguese ace is a phenomenon which had to travel from one place as he was raised in Portugal, nurtured in England, established in Spain and living in Italy, Cristiano Ronaldo has sure made name for himself while he travelled round the world to establish his ingenuity among the greatest legends that ever graced the beautiful world of football. And while doing so, the Portuguese captain had travelled round the world doing his bidding at an estimated kilometer of over three million like his prodigious compatriots. 

Gary Player  

Although football and other sports ensure that players are constantly on the move, and while they travelled to leave their mark on the global wall, many have just shown from the beginning of their career, while some did shine at the later stage of theirs. But irrespective of their age and achievement, the most travelled athletes are none other than Gary Player. The South African ex-professional golfer who had won it all in the golf world. 

While he achieved the feats, no one could dare to in his prime, the South African international travelled round the six continents searching for glory which further enabled him to be among the greatest golfers of all time. The prodigy is a student of the world. In his restless pursuit of education, “The World’s Most Travelled Athlete” has flown over 14 million miles in his 80 years and his success and records precede him till date