Ronaldo, Neymar the most marketable footballers - Messi not even top five

 Al-Nassr superstar Cristiano Ronaldo has been named the most marketable footballer in the world, while Lionel Messi does not even crack the top five.

Sports business media outlet SportsPro annually publishes a list of the "most marketable" athletes in the world, and given the universal nature of football, the game's biggest players regularly feature in the top 50

The publication states that it employs a "multi-dimensional methodology" to arrive at its ranking, which includes the use of "extensive data from a range of sources, social media monitoring, cultural trend analysis, economic valuations, and expert insights."

This year, seven-time Formula 1 champion Lewis Hamilton leads the list ahead of American trio Simone Biles, Ilona Maher and Steph Curry. Coming in fifth, and thus the first footballer on the list, is Cristiano Ronaldo.

Surprisingly, the Portuguese legend is followed by Neymar, whose stock in the game has drastically diminished in recent years. However, the Santos attacker is still immensely popular in his native Brazil - and beyond - and maintains a powerful brand.

Messi only sixth among footballers

The next footballer to make the list is 11th-placed Barcelona striker Robert Lewandowski, followed by Real Madrid duo Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Junior in 13th and 14th, respectively. In between these three in 12th is 17-year-old Brazilian skateboarding prodigy Rayssa Leal.

Lionel Messi, arguably the greatest footballer of all time, only comes in 16th and is thus the sixth most marketable soccer player. This is surprising, although it can be explained by the fact that the Inter Miami hero mostly keeps to himself and does not seem too bothered about augmenting his brand.

The highest-ranking Premier League player is Arsenal star Bukayo Saka, who sits three spots below Messi in 19th. Barcelona wonderkid Lamine Yamal is 23rd, with England captain Harry Kane in 28th.

Barcelona pair Raphinha and Marcus Rashford clock in 30th and 32nd, respectively. PSG defender Achraf Hakimi in 34th is followed by the first women's footballer on this list in Barcelona superstar Alexia Putellas, who comes in at number 36.

Mohamed Salah, Rodrygo, Jamal Musiala, Beth Mead and Dani Olmo also make the top 50 of the most marketable athletes.