Michael Schumacher was the most searched-for sportsman in 2014, the internet giant Google has announced.
An analysis of the more than two trillion searches on the world’s most popular search engine this year also showed that Schumacher’s skiing crash and recuperation was the ninth most popular internet news story overall.
The F1 legend’s struggle was only out-searched by those seeking news about paralympian Oscar Pistorius’ murder trial and the Malaysia Airlines disasters, with ALS and Ebola topping the list overall.
Despite the high interest in Schumacher’s recovery, however, the Swiss news website Bluewin reports that his personal fashion sponsors Navyboot and Jet Set have terminated their deals with the 45-year-old German.
The news comes after the German mineral water company Rosbacher ended its commercial backing of Schumacher earlier in 2014.
A spokesperson for the Gaydoul group, owner of the Navyboot and Jet Set brands, confirmed that its sponsorship deals with Schumacher have ended.
The deals were estimated at $5 million per year.