Cristiano Ronaldo's year just keeps getting better and better with each passing day. In the last 12 months, the Real Madrid star guided Portugal to the Euro 2016 title, won the La Liga and the Champions League, made the cover of FIFA 18 and has now been declared the highest paid athlete in the world by Forbes.
After an outstanding season with Real Madrid, Ronaldo is expected to win his fifth Ballon d'or later this year and could match Lionel Messi's tally, should he win. The Portuguese is reported to have earned $93 million in this past year, with his Real Madrid salary of $58 million and his off field endorsements of $35 million last year.
Also read: FIFA 18 global cover: Cristiano Ronaldo's year just keeps getting better and better
Ronaldo also has a lifetime contract with Nike, which is worth around $1 billion and the other brands that he endorses include Tag Heuer, Herbalife and Abbott Labs. Along with that the former Manchester United star also has his own brand called CR7 which makes shoes, underwear and perfumes.
Barcelona star Messi, who was second on the list last year, dropped down to third, as Cleveland Cavaliers star LeBron James beat him to second place. The Argentine earned around $80 million and his teammate Neymar is the next footballer on the list at No. 18, earning $37 million, which includes $22m in endorsements on top of his $15m salary.
Overall, only nine footballers made the top 100, which includes three Real Madrid and Barcelona players, two from Manchester United and one from Manchester City.
The other footballers on the list are Gareth Bale at No. 24 ($34m), Zlatan Ibrahimovic at No. 30 ($32m), Wayne Rooney at No. 70 ($23.6m), Luis Suarez at No. 71 ($23.3m), Sergio Aguero at No. 80 ($22.6m) and James Rodriguez at No. 91 ($21.9m).
In all, the list consists of players from 11 different sports with basketball dominating the list with 32 NBA players, followed by baseball with 22 players, American football with 15 and football with nine. Players from 21 countries made the list this year with 63 Americans making the list thanks to the sky-high salaries they get.
Here is a look at the athletes that made the top 10.
1. Cristiano Ronaldo
2. LeBron James
3. Lionel Messi
4. Roger Federer
5. Kevin Durant
6. Andrew Luck
7. Rory Mcllroy
8. Stephan Curry
9. James Harden
10. Lewis Hamilton
Click here to check out the complete list
