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Ronaldo becomes first footballer to be named highest paid athlete
Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo has come out on top of Forbes' new SportMoney Index as the best-paid athlete in the world.
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The Portuguese has become the first footballer ever to attain this crown, beating great rival Lionel Messi to top spot once more.
The Real Madrid forward tops Forbes magazine’s list for the first time, having earned $88million (£70.6m) last year, up from $80m (£64.2m) in 2015. Messi, meanwhile, follows in second-place with his income totalling $81m ($65m).
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“With Mayweather hanging up his gloves and Woods hampered by injuries, there is an opening at the top. Filling the gap is the biggest star in the biggest sport on the planet,” Kurt Badenhausen of Forbes reported.
“This year, soccer icon Cristiano Ronaldo is the world's highest-paid athlete, with earnings of $88m over the past 12 months from salary, bonuses and endorsements. Ronaldo is only the second team athlete after Michael Jordan to rank as the top-paid since Forbes began tracking athlete earnings in 1990.
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Since the list’s inception in 1990, athletes from individual sports have tended to top the list. Ronaldo is only the second athlete from a team sport to head the rankings, after basketball icon Michael Jordan.
LeBron James, the Cleveland Cavaliers small forward, is third in the list having earned $77.2m (£61.9m), while tennis’ Roger Federer ($67.8m/£54.4m) and the Golden State Warriors’ Kevin Durant ($56.2m/£45.1m) complete the top five.
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Tiger Woods and Floyd Mayweather, two athletes who have dominated Forbes’ rankings in the recent past, placed 12th and 16th after relatively inactive years on the golf course and in the boxing ring respectively.
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