Lionel Messi was the highest paid athlete in the world in the last year, according to the Forbes List released Wednesday that had the Paris Saint-Germain striker ahead of the NBA’s LeBron James and Manchester United’s Cristiano Ronaldo.
Messi earned $130m (£107m), a figure that includes $55m (£45m) from endorsements, during the 12-month period ending May 1, 2022, to sit atop the list of the 10 highest-paid athletes one year after finishing. second behind Irish MMA fighter Conor McGregor.
McGregor has now dropped out of the top 10 and hasn’t fought since his loss to Dustin Poirier last summer, when he broke his leg in the fight, and his earnings have taken a hit as a result. It was estimated that he earned £127 million last year.
Sir Lewis Hamilton is another notable omission. Last year he was eighth on the list with £58m, a decrease of almost half from 2020, and this time he’s not in the top 10.
But an interesting facet of the Forbes report is that he has earned £45m in endorsement. He has taken on a number of sponsorships outside of football, some of which have been controversial including tourism ambassador deal with Saudi Arabia
Last year’s winner Conor McGregor dropped out of the top 10: the Irishman hasn’t fought since last May, when he broke his leg in a loss to Dustin Poirier.
READ ALSO Match fixing: Portuguese umpire handed life ban by International Tennis Integrity Agency
Cristiano Ronaldo is third after a year that saw him make an emotional return to Manchester United after three years at Juventus.
Los Angeles Lakers forward James is second on the list after bringing home a combined $121m (£99m), breaking the record of $96.5m (£79m) for an NBA player who set last year, while Ronaldo earned $115m (£94m) to sit third.
FORBES TOP 10 RICH LIST
1: Lionel Messi – £107m
2: LeBron James – £99m
3: Cristiano Ronaldo – £94m
4: Neymar – £78m
5: Stephen Curry – £76m
6: Kevin Durant – £74.8m
7: Roger Federer – £74.4m
8: Canelo Alvarez – £73.7m
9: Tom Brady – £68.7m
10: Giannis Antetokounmpo – £66.3m