Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi has been named as the world's highest earning sports personality by Forbes. It is the first time the Argentine has assumed the position which was previously held by American boxer Floyd Mayweather following his high-income bout with Conor McGregor in 2018.
In order to achieve the status, Messi's wages, prize money and endorsements from June 2018 to June 2019 were all summed up. According to Forbes, the 31-year-old striker has earned a staggering £99.8million ($127 million) over the past 12 months.
The wealth accumulated by the Barca No.10 is £14.2 million ($18 million) more than that of his arch-nemesis Cristiano Ronaldo. The Portuguese superstar came in second with £85.6 million ($108.9 million) despite completing a shock move from Real Madrid to Juventus last summer.
Meet the world's highest-paid athletes: https://t.co/LgDsfRgQwT pic.twitter.com/ZSKoB4E8IN
— Forbes (@Forbes) June 11, 2019
The Top 3 of the list was an all-footballers affair with Paris Saint-Germain star Neymar Jr placing third. The 27-year-old Brazilian's earnings stand at £82.5 million ($104.9 million).
Manchester United pair Paul Pogba (£25 million) and Alexis Sanchez (£24.2 million) finished in the 44th and 53th positions whereas Arsenal's Mesut Ozil (£23.7 million) and Liverpool's Mohamed Salah (£19.7 million) completed the quartet from the Premier League at 57th and 99th respectively.
Andres Iniesta, Kylian Mbappe, Antoine Griezmann, Gareth Bale and Oscar were the other football players featured on the list.
Below is Forbes' top 10 highest paid athlete in the world:
1. Lionel Messi : £99.8m ($127m)
2. Cristiano Ronaldo: £85.6m ($109m)
3. Neymar Jr: £82.5m ($105m)
4. Canelo Alvarez: £73.8m ($94m)
5. Roger Federer: £73.3m ($93.4m)
6. Russell Wilson: £70.3m ($89.5m)
7. Aaron Rodgers: £70.1m ($89.3m)
8. LeBron James: £69.9m ($89m)
9. Stephen Curry: £62.7m ($79.8m)
10. Kevin Durant: £51.3m ($65.4m)
Click here to find out who made the Top 100 list.
