World’s 50 Most Marketable Athletes powered by Nielsen - the top ten:

1-Lionel Messi - Argentinian, 33, Soccer

2-Cristiano Ronaldo - Portuguese, 35, Soccer

3-LeBron James - American, 35, Basketball

4-Virat Kohli - Indian, 31, Cricket

5-Bianca Andreescu - Canadian, 20, Tennis

6-Neymar Jr - Brazilian, 28, Soccer

7-Khabib Nurmagomedov - Russian, 32, MMA

8-Rohit Sharma - Indian, 33, Cricket

9-Mohamed Salah - Egyptian, 28, Soccer

10-Paulo Dybala - Argentinian, 26, Soccer

Focused on athletes only since their inception in 2010, the global rankings have been expanded for the first time to include separate top 50 lists for brands and properties, including leagues, teams, governing bodies and major events across the globe.

Salvatore De Angelis, Head of Digital at Nielsen Sports International, added: “The heavy usage of social media among today's digital-savvy generation has led to a massive content creation boom. Nielsen’s proprietary methodology enables unique insights into how athlete influencer content resonates with target audiences. By powering SportsPro’s 50MM list, we’re able to help brands better understand campaign effectiveness and how to maximise impact across campaigns.”

GOAT LIONEL