Portuguese and Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo has been announced as the highest paid athlete in the world, according to business magazine Forbes- becoming the first footballer to ever top the list.
Ronaldo earned $88m in the year under review, June 1, 2015- 2016, putting him ahead of rival Lionel Messi in second and Cleveland Cavaliers star Lebron James in third.
Forbes calculated the figures for the athletes by combing their salaries plus other revenue they make from endorsement deals and the like. The figure is a lump sum, without agent fees and taxes deducted. The magazine also excludes income gained from investments.
Despite Ronaldo’s top spot, his earnings fall significanty below last year’s winning total, which was Floyd ‘Money’ Mayweather’s record $300m haul, coming off the back of his mega fight with Manny Pacquiao, who finished second. In fact, this is the first time since the year 2000 that either Floyd or Tiger Woods have not topped the list.
Check out the 10 highest paid athletes below….full list at Forbes.
Cristiano Ronaldo – football ($88m/£60.6m)
Lionel Messi – football ($81.4m/£56.1m)
LeBron James – basketball ($77.2m/£53.2m)
Roger Federer – tennis ($67.8m/£46.7m)
Kevin Durant – basketball (£56.2m/£38.7m)
Novak Djokovic – tennis ($55.8m/£38.46m)
Cam Newton – American football ($53.1m/£36.6m)
Phil Mickelson – golf ($52.9m/£36.46m)
Jordan Spieth – golf ($52.8m/£36.39m)
Kobe Bryant – basketball ($50m/£34.46m).

READ ALSO: Refused A UK Visa? CLICK HERE FOR HELP

---

CLICK HERE to subscribe to our daily up-to-date news!!