Lionel Messi and Virat Kohli | Photo Credit: AP

New Delhi: Indian cricket team captain Virat Kohli is unarguably the most marketable cricketer in the world and as per the latest report of sportsperson's brand value list which is topped by Roger Federer. The 28-year-old's brand value is more than that of Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi.

Kohli, with a brand value of $14.5 million, ranks above Messi as well as NBA team Golden State Warriors’ Steph Curry in the list.

The Delhi-lad has been progressing with enviable pace, adding milestones after milestones in his already decorated CV. He recently brought up his 31st ton, became the cricketer with the 2nd most number of ODI centuries, going past Ricky Ponting, with batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar leading that list.

Now, Kohli has stepped on to a global platform and is competing with athletes across sports.

As per Indian Express reports in the latest list released by Forbes, Kohli stands seventh in brand value which is calculated on the basis of an athlete's 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.

Leading the pack is the legendary Tennis player from Switzerland, Roger Federer, who has his brand value at $37.2 million with LeBron James ($33.4 million) and Usain Bolt ($27 million) completing the podium.

Here's how the lists go:

Athletes

1. 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

Sports Teams (Brand value is the portion of its enterprise value attributable to local revenue streams like television, advertising, merchandise and tickets, that exceeds what a typical team in the same sport generates)

1. Dallas Cowboys $896m

2. New York Yankees $688m

3. Los Angeles Lakers $595m

4. Manchester United $564m

5. Barcelona $537m

6. New England Patriots $518m

7. Real Madrid $510m

8. New York Knicks $505m

9. Boston Red Sox $458m

10. Chicago Cubs $457m

Sports Events (Revenue per event per day)

1. Super Bowl – $663m

2. Summer Olympics – $419m

3. Winter Olympics – $285m

4. FIFA World Cup – $229m

5. NCAA Final Four – $228m

6. WrestleMania – $195m

7. UCL – $185m

8. College Football Playoffs – $176m

9. Daytonna 500 – $140m

10. MLB World Series – $124m

Sports Businesses

1. Nike $29.6b

2. ESPN $15.8b

3. Adidas $7.9b

4. Sky Sports $5.5b

5. Under Armour $4.4b

6. MLBAM $2.4b

7. UFC $2b

8. YES Network $1.4b

9. Reebok $800m

10. NESN – $650m

In June this year, Kohli had spoken about his rising brand value, saying: “My brand value should be somewhere in the region of USD 120 million. But these are just number for me. It is not something that I strive for. It is just a by-product of something that I do in my professional career and the focus always remains that.”