Lionel Messi named one of the 100 best athletes in the world as the highest paid sports star in the world

Lionel Messi has been named the highest paid athlete in the world, ahead of his longtime rival, Cristiano Ronaldo.

According to Forbes, superstar Messi, from Barcelona and Argentina, won £ 99.8m.

This allows him to beat Ronaldo, who ranks second with £ 85.6m, and former teammate Barca Neymar as footballers in the top three.

Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba is the best-paid Premier League star with £ 25.9m, while Alexis Sanchez, Mesut Ozil and Mohamed Salah are in the top 100.

Athletes' earnings are calculated by adding their prize, salary and endorsement between June 2018 and 2019.

Canelo Alvarez and Roger Federer complete the top five ahead of NFL stars Russell Wilson and Aaron Rodgers.

The remaining spots in the top 10 go to LeBron James, Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant of the NBA.

Lewis Hamilton and Anthony Joshua are the UK's best-paid sports stars, ranking 13th out of £ 43.2m.

Conor McGregor is fourth, a year ago, but dropped to 21st after just one fight in the last 12 months.

Floyd Mayweather, who had the highest salary in 2018, is not even in the top 100 after a single demonstration match against Japanese kickboxer Tenshin Nasukawa.

Top 10

10. Kevin Durant (NBA) – £ 53.1m

9. Stephen Curry (NBA) – £ 62.7 million

8. LeBron James (NBA) – £ 69.9m

7. Aaron Rodgers (NFL) – £ 70.1m

6. Russell Wilson (NFL) – £ 70.3 million

5. Roger Federer (Tennis) – £ 73.3m

4. Canelo Alvarez (Boxing) – £ 73.8m

3. Neymar (Football) – £ 82.5 million

2. Cristiano Ronaldo (Football) – £ 85.6m

1. Lionel Messi (Football) – £ 99.8m

Notable others in the top 100

11. Tiger Woods (Golf) – £ 50.2m

13. Lewis Hamilton (F1) / Anthon Joshua (Boxing) – £ 43.2m

21. Conor McGregor (UFC) – £ 36.9 million

32. Rory McIlroy (Golf) – £ 30.6m

44. Paul Pogba (Football) – £ 25.9m

46. ​​Andres Iniesta (Football) – £ 25.5 million

53. Alexis Sanchez (Football) – £ 24.2m

55. Kylian Mbappe (Football) – £ 24m

56. Deontay Wilder (Boxing) – £ 24m

57. Mesut Ozil (Football) – £ 23.7m

63. Serena Williams (Tennis) – £ 22.9m

66. Oscar (Football) – £ 22.8m

75. Antoine Griezmann (Football) – £ 21.7m

79. Gareth Bale (Football) – £ 21.3m

99. Mohamed Salah (Football) – £ 19.7m