Virat Kohli Declared As Richest Indian Sportsperson By Forbes; Lionel Messi Tops The Global List

Indian cricket team captain Virat Kohli has been hailed as the richest Indian sportsperson, 2nd time in row.

Forbes magazine has just released its list of the richest sportspersons, and Virat Kohli has again topped the list.

How Much Money Does Virat Kohli Earn?

As per the list released by Forbes, Virat Kohli earned total of $25 million last year, which is approximately Rs 175 crore. Out of this, $21 million was earned by endorsements, and $4 million as his salary from BCCI, which spearheads cricket in India.

Interestingly, Kohli earned $1 million more, compared to 2017. However, his ranking dropped.

While last year, he was ranked #83 in the overall list, this year, he has been ranked #100.

As no other Indian features in the list, this makes Virat Kohli as the richest Indian sportsperson.

Virat leads both International Cricket Council’s Test and ODI rankings and has recently signed up some big-ticket endorsement deals such as Rs 12 crore endorsement deal with MPL or Mobile Premier League and lot more.

Virat Kohli is married to Bollywood star Anushka Sharma, and at the time of their marriage, their combined brand worth was more than Rs 1000 crore.

In 2018, Anushka earned Rs 46 crore, and was 3rd highest earning woman in Bollywood.

Lionel Messi Is World’s Richest Sportsperson

Meanwhile31-year old Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi has topped the list of the richest sportsperson.

This way, Lionel Messi has become the richest sportsperson in the world, with net worth of $127 million or Rs 890 crore. This is only the second time a football player has topped the list, ever since Forbes starting this ranking of richest sportspersons.

Lionel Messi beat Floyd Mayweather, who had topped the list last year with massive earnings of $285 million, the majority of which he made by fighting against UFC star Conor McGregor.

Cristiano Ronaldo was the first football celebrity to top the list in 2016 and 2017.

With earnings of $109 million, Cristiano Ronaldo is at #2 position this year, followed by Neymar, who earned $105 million.

Canelo Alvarez is the only boxer in the top 10 list, at #4, with earnings of $94 million.

Roger Federer is the richest tennis player with earning of $93.5 million, and placed at #5.

Overall, the top 100 sportspersons earned $986 million from endorsements, memorabilia and appearance fees, which is 12% more than last year.

You can find the full list here.

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