Brand Kohli beats Messi on Forbes top 10

It has got nothing to do with the celebrity football match he recently played or the football team he owns, but Virat Kohli is now a more valuable brand than Argentina and FC Barcelona forward Lionel Messi. Cristiano Ronaldo is the only footballer ahead of Kohli, who is No. 7 on the Forbes list of most valuable brands among sportspersons, reports espncricinfo.

Virat Kohli goes ahead of Messi in @Forbes’ “Who has most idiot fans” List. #KingKohli pic.twitter.com/PEt6TjAwAl

— E5BNcricinfo ? (@E5BNcricinfo) October 29, 2017

Forbes calculates the brand value of an athlete by subtracting the average income of the top 10 athletes in the same sport from the total earnings of that athlete, excluding salary and bonus from their sport and all investment income. Forbes calculates Kohli's brand value at US $14.5 million, a million dollars more than the No. 9 Messi, and $22.7m short of the biggest brand among athletes in sport, Roger Federer. In other words, Kohli's endorsements earn him $14.5m more than the average endorsement income of the top 10 cricketers. Despite a major dip in their brand value over the last year, golfers Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods were in the top six.

Virat Kohli is walking among the big boys having overtaken Lionel Messi in the #Forbes list of the world's most valuable athletes! ??#BCCI pic.twitter.com/DCqqynVfCl

— SportsNow India (@SportsNowIndia) October 26, 2017

Kohli, however, is neither the first Indian nor the first cricketer in the top 10 of the Forbes list. MS Dhoni, Kohli's predecessor as India captain, was the fifth-most valuable sports brand among athletes in 2014, with his brand value calculated at $20m, a million lower than it had been in 2013.

Virat Kohli World's Most Marketable Cricketer, Overtakes Messi in Forbes Brand Value Listhttps://t.co/HqHj6v8OMW pic.twitter.com/aVkcVcp4hC

— The Better India (@thebetterindia) October 27, 2017

Even after he gave up Test cricket and captaincy, Dhoni was the tenth-biggest brand in 2016. His brand value, though, did take a big hit that year, coming down from $21m in 2015 to $11m in 2016. Now India's captain in all formats, Kohli has made the big move up, which might be an indicator of how valuable the India captaincy is.

Meanwhile India superstar @imVkohli has left Leo Messi behind in @Forbes list of most valuable athletes!https://t.co/GncbVIVo4g

— Sport360° (@Sport360) October 25, 2017

The IPL, however, failed to make it to the 10 biggest brands among sport and sport-entertainment events. Led by Super Bowl, the list has the two Olympics and the football World Cup featuring at No. 2 and 3.Forbes list of 10 most valuable athletes in 20171. 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

Federer brand is in demand.@Forbes​ names @RogerFederer #1 Athlete Brand Value in 2017.

?: #TCLive pic.twitter.com/WTsrs8IMsh— Tennis Channel (@TennisChannel) October 26, 2017