Move over Floyd Mayweather! Lionel Messi is now world’s highest paid athlete

Footballer, Lionel Messi has dethroned boxer Floyd Mayweather as the world’s highest-paid athlete, raking in $127 million via salary and endorsement deals over the past year, according to Forbes magazine annual sporting rich list.

Last year, Lionel Messi was number two on the list while Mayweather whom he unseated was number one four times in seven years. Behind Messi is longtime rival, Cristiano Ronaldo (No. 2), who earned $109 million between his salary and endorsements while with Paris St-Germain’s Brazil forward Neymar in third on $105m (£82.5m).

Serena Williams (No. 63) returned to the ranking, after no women appeared in 2018.

But basketball players continue to dominate the top 100 overall with 35 athletes on the list earning a total of $1.29 billion, with 72% of that income coming from salaries rather than endorsement deals. Basketballer, LeBron James is at (No. 8 with $89 million). Football was the next most-represented sport with 19 players, followed by baseball with 15, and soccer with 12.

Here is the top 10 list of richest athletes in the world in 2019