Cristiano Ronaldo has been named as the world’s highest-paid athlete in Forbes’ annual rich list after collecting an incredible £109million over the past year.
The 38-year-old hit the jackpot when he put pen to paper on a staggering £175million-a-year contract with Saudi Arabian side Al-Nassr in January.
That lucrative switch has propelled him back to the top of Forbes’ athlete rich list for the first time since 2017 and the third time overall, with an overall income of $136million (£109million) the highest figure from a footballer in history.
An estimated $46million (£37million) of that income has come on the field.
Just behind Ronaldo in second is his long-time rival Lionel Messi, who drops a place after topping last year’s list.
The Paris Saint-Germain superstar earned a total of $130million (£104million).
Another football star, Messi’s PSG team-mate Kylian Mbappe, follows him in third place after raking in $120million (£96million) over the past 12 months, $100million (£80million) of which came on the pitch.
Mbappe takes home the heftiest salary in world football at the Parc des Princes on an astonishing £63million-a-year.
The 24-year-old is the final footballer in the top 10, with basketball icon LeBron James ($119.5million/£95million) and boxing master Canelo Alvarez ($110million/£88million) coming next.
Golf star Dustin Johnson is in sixth place after banking $107million (£86million), $102million (£90million) of which came through competition, just ahead of Phil Mickelson in seventh on $106million (£85million).
Another basketball player, Golden State Warriors point guard Stephen Curry, is the eighth highest-paid athlete on the planet right now after sweeping up $100.4million (£81million).
Roger Federer is the only tennis star included in ninth place, despite only amassing $100,000 (£80,000) of his overall income of $95.1million (£76million) on the court.
Completing the list is a third basketball figure in Phoenix Suns star Kevin Durant ($89.1million/£72million).
