CR7 rakes in £218MILLION to top a new list of world's 100 highest-paid athletes

A list of the top 100 highest-paid athletes in sport across the last year has been revealed - with Cristiano Ronaldo topping the standings.

It will be no surprise to see the Al-Nassr forward and former Man United superstar at the top of the charts for earnings given his eye-watering £175million-a-year deal at the Saudi Arabian outfit, plus his many other lucrative sponsorships.

According to the new list from Sportico, Ronaldo raked in £218m ($275m) - which included £47m from endorsements from the likes of Nike, Herbalife, Armani, Tag Heuer, DAZN and PokerStars, not to mention his own brand CR7.

Ronaldo was already one of the best paid athletes in the world before his move to Saudi and his staggering salary in the Middle East has maintained his spot at the top of the tree.

The Portuguese forward has been battling for supremacy with Lionel Messi for much of his career, and while he may not have won as many Ballon d'Or titles, as the Argentine, he can certainly bost to have greater wealth.

The World Cup winner, now at MLS side Inter Miami, is not even number two behind Ronaldo in the list. That spot belongs to LIV Golf rebel John Rahm.

The Spaniard made £144m ($181m) from his earnings last year - having lifted the 2023 Masters before making the shock move to controversial Saudi-funded breakaway league LIV Golf, who are believed to have paid him around £400m.

Messi instead came in third, after a far reduced earnings than both Ronaldo and Rahm at £52m ($65m), but instead earning more in endorsements - which made him around the same amount.

He took home a total of £100m across the last year - as he and Ronaldo made up a group of four footballers in the top ten.

The other two were Kylian Mbappe, the PSG superstar who looks likely to