Virat Kohli only Indian to feature in Forbes list of world's highest paid athletes

New Delhi : Indian skipper for Cricket team Virat Kohli is the only Indian who has managed to feature in the Forbes list of World’s highest-paid athletes. Exactly like last year, he is the only Indian representative and has been ranked 100th, in the list published by Forbs on June 11.

As mentioned in the list, Virat Kohli has earned an estimated amount of USD 25 million in the last 12 months. He has raked in USD 21 million from endorsements and USD 4 million from salary and winnings.

Despite increase in his total earnings, the cricketer has dropped 17 places from the 83rd rank on last year’s list.

According to the Forbes list, Argentina and Barcelona football star Lionel Messi is the world’s highest paid athlete at the moment with an estimated earning amount of USD 127 million. He surpassed Floyd Mayweather, who held the crown last year, and was the leader four times in seven years. 

Behind Messi is longtime rival Cristiano Ronaldo (No. 2), who earned $109 million between his salary and endorsements. Serena Williams (No. 63) returned to the ranking, after no women appeared in 2018.

“The global impact of soccer is clearly reflected in earnings in 2019, with the top three athletes on the list being Messi, Ronaldo, and Neymar,” said Kurt Badenhausen, senior editor, Forbes Media. “But basketball players continue to dominate the top 100 overall with 35 athletes on the list earning a total of $1.29 billion, with 72% of that income coming from salaries rather than endorsement deals.”

This year’s list has a representative from ten different sports, with NBA stars leading the pack. While there are 35 boxing stars in the list, football is the next-most representative sport with 19 players, followed by baseball and soccer with 15 and 12 respectively.