Kohli overtakes Messi in Forbes’ list of most valuable players

NEW YORK - India captain Virat Kohli has shot past Barcelona star Lionel Messi in Forbes’ list of the world’s most valuable athletes.

According to Forbes, the 28-year-old cricketer is ranked seventh in the list with a brand value of $14.5 million, which puts him ahead of Messi who is at ninth ($13.5 million), golfer Rory McIlroy and Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry.

Tennis great Roger Federer tops the list with a brand value of $37.2 million, followed by basketball star LeBron James ($33.4 million) and sprint champion Usain Bolt ($27 million).

Portugal and Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo sits at fourth ($21.5 million), golfer Philip Mickelson ($19.6 million) at fifth and Tiger Woods ($16.6 million) at sixth.

The Forbes ‘World's Most Valuable Sports Brands 2017’ list assesses the ‘brand value’ of athletes by calculating their earnings – excluding salary and bonus fees from their sport – and all investment income.-Online