Virat Kohli ranks ahead of Lionel Messi and Steph Curry on Forbes' brand value list

Indian cricket team captain Virat Kohli ranks ahead of the likes of Barcelona’s football icon Lionel Messi and NBA team Golden State Warriors’ Stephen Curry when it comes to brand value.

According to Forbes’ list, Indian cricket icon Virat Kohli has better brand value than NBA star Steph Curry, golfer Rory McIlroy, and one of the greatest players to play football, Argentina and Barcelona star Lionel Messi.

Tennis great Roger Federer leads the list with $37.2 million followed by NBA star LeBron James ($33.4 million) and recently retired Jamaican athlete Usain Bolt $27 million.

How is the brand value counted?

An athletes brand value is their earnings (excluding salary and bonus from their sport and all investment income), minus the average income of the top 10 athletes in the same sport.

Kohli has also been named the highest paid cricketer in the world.

Here's the top 10 list

1. Roger Federer $37.2 million
2. LeBron James $33.4 million
3. Usain Bolt $27 million
4. Cristiano Ronaldo $21.5 million
5. Phil Mickelson $19.6 million
6. Tiger Woods $16.6 million
7. Virat Kohli $14.5 million
8. Rory McIlroy $13.6 million
9. Lionel Messi $13.5 million
10. Steph Curry $13.4 million