Captain of the Indian cricket team, Virat Kohli, is among the highest-paid athletes in the world, according to a compilation by Forbes. He is the only Indian to feature in the list which is topped by American boxing champion Floyd Mayweather
Argentine professional footballer Lionel Messi is ranked second in the list, followed by soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo.
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He is ranked 83rd with earnings pegged at $24 million while Mayweather’s stood at $285 million. Earlier Kohli featured in the list of 100 most influential people in the world by the ‘Time’ magazine.
This year the Indian national cricket board, Board of Control for Cricket in India, named Kohli as one of among the five players to receive the newly-created A+ contracts, which guarantee an annual retainer of more than $1 million.
Surprisingly, the compilation is an all-male affair with no woman on the list.
“Yet like the Indian cricket mega-stars who have come before him, Kohli’s big payday comes off the pitch” where he’s partnered with top brands such as Puma, Pepsi, Audi and Oakley, Forbes said.
There are no women on the list.
Forbes said tennis’ female sportspersons Li Na, Maria Sharapova and Serena Williams were list regulars but Li retired in 2014 and Sharapova is still dealing with the aftermath of a 15-month suspension for using a banned substance.
Williams, the only woman to feature in the top 100 last year, did not make it to the list as her her prize money dropped from $8 million to $62,000 this year after she gave birth to her daughter, Alexis, in September.