Soccer player Lionel Messi is once again the athlete who has earned the most money in a year.
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The Paris Saint-Germain color bearer sits at the top of the annual list of the 50 highest paid sportsmen made by the magazine “Forbes”. According to data collected by him, Messi received US$130 million in 2021. The 34-year-old Argentinian was also the athlete with the largest bank account in 2019.
To achieve its classification, the economic review lists salaries, sponsorship contracts and everything that can bring in money off the field. However, it excludes taxes and entertainment expenses.
In the last year, Messi received US$75 million from his contract with PSG and US$55 million from his sponsors, including Adidas, Budweiser and PepsiCo.
Messi’s arch-rival on and off the pitch, Cristiano Ronaldo is down a rank compared to last year and now sits third with a total of US$115 million.
LeBron James bon 2e
It is LeBron James who occupies the second step of the podium in 2021. The representative of the Los Angeles Lakers got his hands on 121.2 million $US, including 80 million $US for activities carried out outside the tennis courts. basketball.
The top 5 is completed by Neymar ($95 million) and Stephen Curry ($92.8 million). Roger Federer, who became the first tennis player to top the Forbes rankings in 2020, dropped to seventh place with $90.7 million. This is US$15.6 million less than last year.
Tom Brady ($83.9 million) is the only football player to sneak into the top 10. However, quarterbacks Matthew Stafford ($72.3 million), Aaron Rodgers ($68 million US), Josh Allen (US$67 million), Deshaun Watson (US$55.6 million), Patrick Mahomes (US$49.1 million) and Kirk Cousins (US$48.8 million) are all in the top 25 .
In addition, the world’s 50 highest-earning athletes raised a total of US$2.97 billion, shattering the mark set last year by an 8% increase. This represents approximately US$200 million.
Lionel Messi – Soccer – 130 millions $US
LeBron James – Basketball – 121,2 millions $US
Cristiano Ronaldo – Soccer – 115 millions $US
Neymar – Soccer – 95 millions $US
Stephen Curry – Basketball – 92,8 millions $US
Kevin Durant – Basketball – 92,1 millions $US
Roger Federer – Tennis – 90,7 millions $US
Canelo Alvarez – Boxing – 90 million $US
Tom Brady – Football – 83,9 millions $US
Giannis Antetokounmpo – Basketball – 80.9 million $ US
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