5 ISL footballers you won't believe are worth more than IPL stars

Two of the most popular franchise leagues in the Indian sporting scene, IPL and ISL, have seen some of the biggest flows of money in Indian sports over the years. The Indian Premier League (IPL) started off in 2008 in the aftermath of India's World Twenty20 win in 2007, while the Indian Super League (ISL) kicked off in 2014 as a footballing counterpart of the IPL.

Big money has changed hands over the course of the two league's history, but there isn't much of a difference between the ISL and the IPL as far as splashing the cash is concerned. The ISL has brought in global superstars to the Indian game, although as spent forces, while the IPL continues to attract the best cricketers on this planet to India on a regular basis.

While the chasm of worldwide reputation between the IPL and the ISL remains, both league's lucrativeness has never been compromised. The ISL has grown over its three-year history and its clubs have offered salaries to players almost on a par with IPL franchises. Let us take a look at 5 ISL players who have commanded more money in wages than IPL superstars did in the 2017 edition.

#1 Alessandro Del Piero - $1.69 million - more than AB De Villiers, Gautam Gambhir, Suresh Raina

Raina earned $1.58 million in IPL 2017, while Gambhir pocketed $1.66 million and De Villiers earned $1.58 million in wages. In contrast, Alessandro Del Piero arrived for big money in ISL 2014, signed for a figure close to $1.69 million by Delhi Dynamos for three months of football action. That Del Piero managed that feat in 2014 and betters the inflated 2017 salaries of Indian cricket team stars like Gambhir and Raina as well as the South African legend was a pointer by the ISL that it had arrived big time.

#2 Robbie Keane - $1.44 million - more than Chris Gayle, Ajinkya Rahane, Ravi Ashwin

Keane will earn massive wages in the ISL

Defending ISL champions ATK shook the balance of the Indian transfer market when they landed the Irish legend Robbie Keane this summer. Keane will earn a whopping sum of around $1.44 million for his involvement in ISL 2017-18, dwarfing those of the swashbuckling Gayle and Indian cricket team stars Ajinkya Rahane and Ravi Ashwin. While Gayle earned $1.4 million for IPL 2017, Rahane pocketed $1.33 million and Ashwin $1.25 million.

#3 Dimitar Berbatov - $1.17 million - more than Yuvraj Singh, Glen Maxwell, Ravindra Jadeja

Signing Dimitar Berbatov is a big statement of intent from Kerala Blasters

Two-time ISL runners-up Kerala Blasters roped in Berbatov last week and it is believed that the Bulgarian legend will pocket around $1.17 million for his time in the ISL. The Kochi-based club's offer trumped the salaries of superstar cricketers like Yuvraj Singh, Glen Maxwell and Ravindra Jadeja. Yuvraj's $1.05 million salary for IPL 2017 pales in comparison to Berbatov's for ISL 2017-18, and likewise for Maxwell ($1 million) and Jadeja ($916k).

#4 Diego Forlan - $1.03 million - more than David Warner, Keiron Pollard

Forlan showed his worth on the pitch too

Last year, Mumbai City decided to make Diego Forlan the highest paid player in the ISL with a deal of $1.03 million, easily eclipsing the salaries of top cricketers like David Warner ($916k) and Keiron Pollard ($900k) in IPL 2017. India's Ravindra Jadeja's earnings ($916k) were also dwarfed by Forlan, who, unlike Del Piero, proved his worth on Indian pitches as well. The jury is still out on Keane and Berbatov, but it is expected that both of them head Forlan's way.

#5 Nicolas Anelka - $845k - more than Steve Smith, Dwayne Bravo

Anelka played two seasons in the ISL

The French striker was around ISL circles for two seasons and was on the books of Mumbai City FC on a big-money contract. Anelka's $845k salary in ISL 2014 dropped considerably in the next season, but that opening season wage is higher than what the likes of Steve Smith and Dwayne Bravo pocketed during IPL 2017. Smith and Bravo's similar $666k wages in IPL 2017 is comfortably dwarfed by an ISL footballer, an impossible prospect as recently as a decade ago.