Messi releases Mayweather on the Forbes list, Canelo in # 4

Lionel Messi was the highest paid athlete in the world in the past year, Forbes magazine announced Tuesday in its annual sports record.

Messi, the Argentine star of Barcelona and Argentina, has dethroned Floyd Mayweather, the retired five-division world champion, as the biggest source of revenue in the world of sport, raking in $ 127 million via wage and sponsorship agreements.

Mayweather, who only participated in an exhibition on Dec. 31 in Japan, moved from first place on the 2018 list, due to his 2017 mega-fight with Conor McGregor, not being on the list of all.

The new list places Messi in front of his longtime rival, Cristiano Ronaldo, the star of Juventus and Portugal, second with gains of $ 109 million.

Neymar, Brazilian striker Saint-Germain and Paris Saint-Germain, finished third on the podium, finishing third with a profit of 105 million dollars.

The fourth winner of the list was WBA, WBC, IBF middleweight champion Saul "Canelo" Alvarez, with $ 94 million.

Canelo, who defeated Gennady Golovkin last September to become the unified middleweight champion, signed a very lucrative deal last October, signing a five-year contract of 11 fights with the DAZN streaming network of value $ 365 million.

Evergreen tennis star Roger Federer was fifth on the list with a total profit of $ 93.4 million.

The bulk of Federer's revenue was earned through lucrative endorsement contracts, with the Grand Slam singles champion having won 20 selections winning $ 86 million.

The stars of the NFL and the NBA have completed the top 10 on the list. Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson was sixth at $ 89.5 million, just ahead of Aaron Rodgers of Green Bay Packers ($ 89.3 million).

The Los Angeles Lakers star, LeBron James, was the most deserving NBA player, with $ 89 million, while Stephen Curry of Golden State ranked ninth with $ 79.8 million.

Curry's Golden State teammate, Kevin Durant, took the 10th place ranking with $ 65.4 million.

The former world number one, Tiger Woods, was in 11th place with $ 69.3 million, including about $ 54 million in endorsements.

Tennis superstar Serena Williams was the only woman on the list, placing 63rd with a profit of $ 29.2 million.