World's Most Marketable: Messi, Dhoni, Ronaldo out - Virat in

You would expect the same big names to feature in the list of world's top ten marketable sportsperson year after year.

Roger Federer, Serena Williams, Tom Brady, MS Dhoni, LeBron James, Messi should be in the list right, considering these athletes have raised the bar – and continue to raise the bar – in their respective sports.

But there's a surprise. This year SportsPro's top 10 list does not include Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Novak Djokovic and Usain Bolt. They do feature among the top 50 marketable athletes.

NBA's 'Most Valuable Player' Stephen Curry ranked top while Juventus' French international Paul Pogba takes the second spot.

Indian cricketer and numero uno batsman Virat Kohli has been named as third most marketable sportsperson in the world ahead of football superstar Lionel Messi, world No. 1 tennis player Novak Djokovic.

According to SportsPro, which does extensive research on business of sports, the criteria of ranking athletes from across the world is marketing potential over a three-year period from this summer.

The components they have been assessed are value for money, age, home market, charisma, willingness to be marketed and crossover appeal.

Tennis player Eugenie Bouchard topped the rankings in 2015; soccer star Neymar, Formula One champ Lewis Hamilton all slipped in the ranking.

The Top Ten

Stephen Curry
American, 28, Basketball
Key partners: Under Armour, JPMorgan Chase, Degree, Kaiser Permanente, JBL, Brita, Fanatics
2015 ranking: 7

Paul Pogba
French, 23, Soccer
Key partners: Adidas
2015 ranking: 11

Virat Kohli
Indian, 27, Cricket
Key partners: Adidas, MRF, TVS, Tissot
2015 ranking: 6

Jordan Spieth
American, 22, Golf
Key partners: Under Armour, AT&T, Rolex, Netjets, Titleist
2015 ranking: 3

Anthony Joshua
British, 26, Boxing
Key partners: Under Armour, StubHub, RDX Sports, ORS Hydration Tablets
2015 ranking: 35

Kei Nishikori
Japanese, 26, Tennis
Key partners: Uniqlo, Jaguar, Adidas, Weider, Wilson, Asahi, Nissin, Tag Heuer
2015 ranking: 8

Lydia Ko
New Zealander, 19, Golf
Key partners: Callaway Golf, ANZ, Evian
2015 ranking: 23

Neymar
Brazilian, 24, Soccer
Key partners: Nike, Panasonic, Claro, Volkswagen, Rexona, Gillette
2015 ranking: 2

Missy Franklin
American, 21, Swimming
Key partners: Speedo, Wheaties, GoPro
2015 ranking: 4

Mikaela Shiffrin
American, 21, Skiing
Key partners: Atomic, Oakley, Barilla, Longines, Red Bull
2015 ranking: 180

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