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Professional athletes are some of the richest people on the planet. Be it footballers, basketball players, boxers, tennis players, golfers or cricketers, the one thing which is common among all of them is that they are rich. Not just rich actually, stinking rich to be precise. While Indian cricketers make a ton of money with cricket being the most popular sport in the country, they still have quite a long stretch to cover in order to attain the financial stature of star footballers, hoopsters, golfers, boxers and tennis players. Having said that, cricketers are stinking rich as well and there are no two ways about it.
Cricket is played by a handful of countries around the world while football, tennis, boxing and golfers are global sports. Thus the influx of money is greater based on the popularity of the athletes. According to Forbes, there are five footballers in the list of top 50 richest athletes in the world while no cricketer is part of that chart.
But still, like it's aforementioned, cricketers are rich too, especially Indian cricketers as they live in a country where cricket is not just a sport but religion. For athletes, salary covers only a small portion of their wealth. It is through advertisements, sneakers and social media they make millions of dollars.
With money comes a pertinent question of investment. Most athletes invest in stocks, start-ups and fitness centres in order to make sure they can make more money in the long run, one which can be used once their glittering career comes to a close.
Let's take a look at some of the preferred options of investment for cricketers and footballers. In order to better understand, we compare the investment vigilance of Virat Kohli, who is the richest cricketer on the planet, to the richest footballer on the planet - Cristiano Ronaldo.
Virat Kohli
The maverick Indian cricketer has invested in clothing and accessories brand, Wrogn. Kohli has himself admitted that he is a coffee connoisseur and on the same lines he has invested in Rage Coffee. When it comes to investing money in start-ups, the former Indian captain has invested in Chisel Fitness, which is a Bengaluru-based chain of gyms and fitness centers and also Blue Tribe, which is a startup based on plant-based meat products. Kohli has also invested in insurance start-up 'Digit' while he also has a stake in Goa FC, a football team in the Indian Super League (ISL).
Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo is probably the richest athlete in the world. Impeccable talent and work ethic coupled with good looks and a confident demeanor have propelled the Portuguese phenomenon to the summit. Ronaldo is associated with some of the leading brands in the world, and it is not just restricted to companies restricted to sports. With fame and success come millions of dollars. And Ronaldo possesses the acumen to convert millions into billions. His business-savvy nature has earned him an enormous amount of success and money off the pitch. So where does the best footballer of this generation invest his money?
Well, the five-time Ballon d'Or winner has invested his earnings in clothing brands, hotel chains, hair care, perfumes and fragrances among others as he continues to chatter into different sectors. Cristiano has a lifetime deal with Nike, which is estimated to earn him $1 billion. He has invested millions of dollars in CR7 apparel and perfume lines, which are extremely popular among youngsters. Ronaldo also owns a lavish private jet. When he is not using his private jet, he often rents the aircraft for £3000 per hour.
Ronaldo has also invested heavily in Pestana CR7, which is a hotel chain. Two hotels are functional in Portugal while one recent Pestana CR7 hotel opened its door to people in Madrid, Spain. Ronaldo has reportedly invested in an online platform for trading officially-licensed digital cricket collectibles.
Investment acumen
Investments of star cricketers
Robin Uthappa: Online tiffin service company - iTiffin
Kapil Dev: Mobile App named SloPho
Smriti Mandhana: Ayurvedic company
Gary Kirsten: Tours and travels, performance zone and cricket academy
Sunil Gavaskar: Players management group
Anil Kumble: Tenvic sports, stump vision
Sourav Ganguly: Co-owner of an ISL team
Virender Sehwag: School
Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara: Ministry of Crab restaurant
Chris Gayle: Triple century sports bar
Suresh Raina: Hockey team UP Wizards, Maate (baby care products)
Steve Smith: Koala Mattress
David Warner: Vodka, race horse, Kaboom kid series
Investments of star footballers
Neymar: NFT
Kylian Mbappe: Production company
Philip Lahm: Sports care, balm and hygiene product manufacturer 'Sixtus'
Andrea Pirlo: Alcohol company
Gerard Pique: Kosmos Global Holding, owner of FC Andora
Robbie Fowler: Property dealer
Tennis
Roger Federer: Laver Cup organiser, clothing apparel through RF, cap launch, Team 8 (player agency company), On
Rafael Nadal: Tennis academy, Tatel restaurant
Novak Djokovic: Eqvita restaurant, Cafe chain 'Novak'
Maria Sharapova: Confectionery chain
Serena Williams: Serena ventures, co-owner Miami Dolphins, clothing line
Other sports
Kevin Durant (Basketball): NFT, Thirty Five Ventures
LeBron James: Fenway Sports Group, Ownership stake in Liverpool and Boston Red Sox, Blaze Pizza, SpringHill Entertainment Company, Ladder Sport nutrition company
Tiger Woods: Golf course design firm, Sports bar, Live events series,
Usain Bolt: Champions Shave company, Fast food chain, partnership with Puma and Hublot
