Virat Kohli’s brand value more than Lionel Messi, Roger Federer tops list with LeBron James behind.
The Forbes list of the world’s most valuable athletes for the year has come out and it has put out quite a few surprises. While the top spot is taken by Tennis legend Roger Federer, what is surprising is that Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi is only placed ninth, with India’s cricketing star Virat Kohli above him in sixth place.
Cristiano Ronaldo is the highest placed footballer on the list in fourth position. Let’s take a look at the top 10 on the list.
According to Forbes, Kohli is ranked seventh in the list released by Forbes ahead of Messi, who is at ninth. Between Kohli and Messi is the Irish golfer Rory McIlroy. Kohli is placed at seventh with a brand value of $14.5 million, compared to Messi’s $13.5 million.
Here is the list of top 10 most valuable brands among sports athletes:
Here is the list of top 10 most valuable brands among sports athletes:
1. Roger Federer $37.2m
2. LeBron James $33.4m
3. Usain Bolt $27m
4. Cristiano Ronaldo $21.5m
5. Phil Mickelson $19.6m
6. Tiger Woods $16.6m
7. Virat Kohli $14.5m
8. Rory McIlroy $13.6m
9. Lionel Messi $13.5m
10. Steph Curry $13.4m
Kohli took over as India captain across formats in January 2017 and has already guided the team to the top spot in the ICC Test Rankings.
In June this year, Kohli had spoken about his rising brand value, saying: “My brand value should be somewhere in the region of USD 120 million. But these are just number for me. It is not something that I strive for. It is just a by-product of something that I do in my professional career and the focus always remains that.”