Messi is the athlete with the highest commercial value in the world

 According to Sports Pro Media, Messi is currently the athlete with the highest commercial value in 2023. This is the second time the Argentine superstar has led the world athlete value rankings after 14 seasons ( last time in 2020). Behind Messi is the symbol of the American basketball tournament (NBA) LeBron James.

Messi with the 2022 World Cup championship

In the top 10 of this list, there are only 4 football players, besides Messi, Alex Morgan (3rd place), Megan Rapinoe (5th place) of the US women's soccer team along with Kylian Mbappe (9th place). The majority of athletes on this list come from soccer, basketball, tennis and racing. Ronaldo dropped to 27th place after topping the list in 2022. CR7 landed at Al Nassr and has been with the Arab team until now. Ronaldo also plans to retire at this club and not stay in Europe. Perhaps that is the reason why the player born in 1985 had his commercial value lowered by Sports Pro Media.

Messi's ranking at the top of the list is based on Sports Pro's assessment of the Inter Miami player's influence. The Argentine superstar not only has a great influence on the field but also in marketing when he tops the list of athletes with the highest market value in the world.

Specifically, Messi won the World Cup championship in 2022 and will likely be the winner of the 2023 Golden Ball. Besides, Messi's influence at Inter Miami increases the income of MLS teams through ticket sales. According to statistics, matches with Inter Miami have their ticket prices skyrocketing with an average of at least 10 times.

Top 10 on the list:

1- Lionel Messi (Soccer)

2- LeBron James (Basketball)

3- Alex Morgan (Soccer)

4- Giannis Antetokounmpo (Basketball)

5- Megan Rapinoe (Soccer)

6- Mikaela Shiffrin (Skiing)

7- Lewis Hamilton (Formula 1 racing)

8- Simone Biles (Gymnastics)

9- Kylian Mbappe (Soccer)

10- Max Verstappen (Formula 1)