Football news: Lionel Messi beats Cristiano Ronaldo in Forbes 100 list of highest-paid athletes
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ByEurosport
Updated 12/06/2019 at 10:42 GMT
Lionel Messi has beaten Cristiano Ronaldo to top spot in Forbes’ 2019 list of the world’s 100 highest-paid sports stars.
Lionel Messi, FC Barcelona
Image credit: Getty Images
The Barcelona forward reportedly earned £99.8 million over the last 12 months - £72.3m in salary plus winnings, and a further £27.5m in endorsements.
Juventus striker Ronaldo was second (£85.6m), with PSG’s Neymar (£82.5m) completing football’s lock-out of the top three places. Mexican boxer Canelo Alvarez is fourth (£73.8m), pipping fifth-placed Roger Federer (£73.3m).
NFL stars Russell Wilson, Aaron Rodgers and NBA trio LeBron James, Steph Curry and Kevin Durant completed the top 10. Serena Williams was the only woman in the top 100, taking 63rd position with £22.9m.
Britons Lewis Hamilton and Anthony Joshua shared 13th place in the list (£43.2m), while Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba was the highest-earning Premier League player in 44th (£25.9m).
There was no place in the top 100 for last year’s highest earner, Floyd Mayweather – hardly surprising given his last fight was almost two years ago.
Forbes: Top 10 highest-paid athletes in 2019
- 1. Lionel Messi - £99.8m
- 2. Cristiano Ronaldo - £85.6m
- 3. Neymar - £82.5m
- 4. Canelo Alvarez - £73.8m
- 5. Roger Federer - £73.3m
- 6. Russell Wilson - £70.3m
- 7. Aaron Rodgers - £70.1m
- 8. LeBron James - £69.9m
- 9. Stephen Curry - £62.7m
- 10. Kevin Durant - £51.3m
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