MUMBAI: Argentinian football wizard Lionel Messi is the world’s highest paid athlete, according to Forbes magazine’s 2019 rankings.
The Barcelona captain tops the list for the first time, displacing superstar boxer and self proclaimed “Money Man” Floyd Mayweather from the top slot.
The 31-year-old earned an eye-watering $127 million over the last year, ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo ($109m) in second place and Neymar ($105m in third).
Messi’s earnings are broken down by Forbes as $92 million in wages and $35 million in endorsements.
Interestingly the top three players are all footballers, followed in fourth place by boxer Cancelo Alvarez, while tennis legend Roger Federer comes in at No. 5.
India captain Virat Kohli is the only cricketer on the Forbes’ Top 100 list. With total earnings of $25 million ($4m in wages and $21m from endorsements), King Kohli just about makes it to the list, coming in at 100.
Ranked 83rd on last year’s list, Kohli has dropped down to the 100th spot despite an increase of $1 million in endorsements.
And just as Kohli is the only cricketer on the Forbes list, tennis star Serena Williams is the only woman who makes it onto the Top 100 chart. After her absence last year, the 37-year-old mother and sporting icon bows in at No. 63. Forbes calculated her pay at $29.2 million, with winnings at $4.2 million and off-the-court endorsement deals at $25 million.
Forbes top 10:
1. Lionel Messi $127m
2. Cristiano Ronaldo $109m
3. Neymar $105m
4. Canelo Alvarez $94m
5. Roger Federer $93.4m
6. Russell Wilson $89.5m
7. Aaron Rodgers $89.3m
8. LeBron James $89m
9. Stephen Curry $79.8m
10. Kevin Durant $65.4m
The figures are calculated by adding salary, endorsements and prize money from June 2018 to June 2019. Forbes notes that endorsement incomes are an “estimate of sponsorships, appearance fees and licensing incomes”.
