Dhoni beats football superstars Messi and Ronaldo in list of most marketable athletes

Mahendra Singh Dhoni may have given up the Test captaincy — but his presence in the shorter format of the games continues to make him one of the most marketable athletes in the world. In fact, even more marketable than football superstars Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo — if you go by a study conducted by the London School of Marketing. [caption id=“attachment_2315180” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  File picture of MS Dhoni. Reuters[/caption] MS Dhoni is ninth on the list of the sporting world’s top athletes when it comes to attracting the best brands. The list took into consideration athletes’ brand value, their annual income from sponsorships (as part of their total earnings), and social media influence. Real Madrid superstar Ronaldo, who recently sold his image rights to another club’s owner — and reigning FIFA World Player of the Year Lionel Messi are 10th and 13th respectively. Those are not the only two names Dhoni is ahead of. NBA star Kobe Bryant, Wimbledon finalist Maria Sharapova and sprint king Usain Bolt also train in the wake of MSD. 17-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer topped the list and Tiger Woods, despite his extremely poor form — is ranked second. The study said that Dhoni’s total earnings stood at $31 million — out of which $27 million came from endorsements. Here’s the list of the top 20 most marketable sports stars: 1. R Federer (SUI) Tennis 2. T Woods (USA) Golf 3. P Mickelson (USA) Golf 4. L James (USA) Basketball 5. K Durant (USA) Basketball 6. R McIlroy (NIR) Golf 7. N Djokovic (SRB) Tennis 8. R Nadal (ESP) Tennis 9. MS Dhoni (IND) Cricket 10. C Ronaldo (POR) Football 11. K Bryant (USA) Basketball 12. M Sharapova (RUS) Tennis 13. Lionel Messi (ARG) Football 14. Usain Bolt (JAM) Athletics 15. Neymar (BRA) Football 16. Andy Murray (GBR) Tennis 17. Kei Nishikori (JPN) Tennis 18. Derrick Rose (USA) Basketball 19. Floyd Mayweather (USA) Boxing 20. Serena Williams (USA) Tennis