Cristiano Ronaldo has been listed as the highest- paid athlete in the world by American business magazine, Forbes. The Real Madrid forward is the first footballer to ever top the annual list of the world’s 100 highest- paid athletes, having earned $88 million in the last 12 months – $6.6 million more than Barcelona’s Lionel Messi, who is second. There are five Britons in the top 100, led by Lewis Hamilton in 11th on $46 million, with Rory McIlroy at 17 ($42.6 million), Gareth Bale at 25 ($35.9 million), Wayne Rooney at 49 ($26.1 million) and Andy Murray at 74 ($23 million). Endorsements make up £32 million of Ronaldo’s earnings and this is the first year since 2000 that someone other than Tiger Woods or Floyd Mayweather has led the way. Indeed, Woods has dropped down to No 12, with his $274,000 by far the least amount in terms of salary and winnings. Fortunately for the 14-time major winner, he garnered $45 million in endorsements in the last 12 months. Mayweather is No 16, one place above McIlroy, who added $7.6 million winnings to his $35 million worth of endorsements. There are only two women on the list – Serena Williams ($28.9 million) at No 40, and Maria Sharapova ($21.9 million) at No 88. FedEx Cup winner Jordan Speith ($52.8 million) was the biggest climber of the year, moving up from No 85 to No 9. The American, who is 23 in July, is also the youngest on the list, ahead of Barcelona forward Neymar. There are 10 different sports and 23 countries represented on the list, which is dominated by Americans (65) thanks to soaring salaries in baseball, basketball and American Football. Forbes figures include all salaries and bonuses earned between June 1 2015 and June 1 2016, with endorsement incomes an estimate of sponsorship deals, appearance fees and licensing income through conversations with industry insiders.


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