Virat Kohli among world's highest-paid athletes; Check other top players in Forbes list

India cricket captain Virat Kohli has once again earned the distinction of becoming the sole Indian in the Forbes 2019 list of world's highest-paid athletes, Ranked 100th in the table. He is last on the list of top-100 athletes, headed by Barcelona and Argentina football superstar Lionel Messi, according to Forbes announced today.

According to the Forbes list, Virat Kohli estimated earnings is USD 21m from endorsements and USD 4m from salary and winnings, taking his total tally to USD25m for the last 12 months. Ranked 83rd on last year's list, he has climbed down to the 100th spot despite an increase of USD 1m in endorsements.

On the other hand, Lionel Messi has dethroned retired boxer Floyd Mayweather as the sports world's highest earner, raking in USD 127 million via salary and endorsement deals. Messi is now ahead of long-time rival Cristiano Ronaldo, the Juventus and Portugal star was second with earnings of USD 109 million. 

Paris Saint-Germain star Neymar is at the third spot with total estimated earnings of $105m over the last 12 months ($75m from salary and earnings, $30m from endorsements). Notably, it is the first time that footballers have clinched the top three spots since Forbes began tracking athlete earnings in 1990.

Tennis star Roger Federer is fifth on the list with a $86m earnings from endorsements and $7.4m coming from salary and other sources. Golf star Tiger Woods, F1 great Lewis Hamilton, Novak Djokovic and Conor McGregor are among other big names in the top 25. 

Legendary women's singles tennis player, Serena Williams, is the only woman in the list at the 63rd spot. Barring her, there were no women in Forbes 2018 list, but she made a come back into the top 100 following her return to the sport after a maternity break.

World's Top 10 Highest-Paid Athletes in 2019, according to Forbes.

1. Lionel Messi (Football) - $127m
2. Cristiano Ronaldo (Football) - $109m
3. Neymar (Football) - $105m
4. Canelo Alvarez (Boxing) - $94m
5. Roger Federer (Tennis) - $93.4m
6. Russell Wilson (American Football) - $89.5m
7. Aaron Rodgers (American Football) - $89.3m
8. LeBron James (Basketball) - $89m
9. Stephen Curry (Basketball) - $79.8m
10.Kevin Durrant (Basketball) - $65.4m