Football star, Lionel Messi has displaced his rival, Cristiano Ronaldo as the world’s most marketable athlete.
According to sports business outlet, SportsPro Media, in its list of the top 50 marketable athletes for 2023, Messi finished top for the second time in his career.
Ronaldo finished first last year but he’s not even made the top 10 this time around.
Lionel Messi finished top of the 2020 rankings and has done so again following his groundbreaking move to MLS side Inter Miami. The 2022 FIFA World Cup winner’s contract with the American club includes earning profits garnered from merchandise sales.
The 36-year-old also has a deal in place with Apple which are the streaming service for MLS matches,. They have released a four-part documentary detailing Messi’s heroic World Cup triumph in Qatar last year.
Meanwhile, Cristiano Ronaldo has fallen all the way down to 27th in the top 50 most marketable athletes list. The five-time UEFA Champions League winner left Europe in January for Saudi Pro League giants Al-Nassr. The 38-year-old had finished top last year while at Premier League heavyweights Manchester United.
The only men’s footballer to reach the top 10 apart from Messi, is Paris Saint-Germain superstar Kylian Mbappe who sits ninth.
Here’s the top 10 list of the most marketable athletes in the world:
Lionel Messi
LeBron James
Alex Morgan
Giannis Antetokounmpo
Megan Rapinoe
Mikaela Shiffrin
Lewis Hamilton
Simone Biles
Kylian Mbappe
Max Verstappen