Lionel Messi Tops Forbes' Highest-Paid Athletes List 2022 Ahead Of Cristiano Ronaldo In 3rd

Lionel Messi is top of Forbes' highest-paid athletes list 2022. He made a reported $130m. Fellow soccer stars Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar also make the top 10.

Three of the world's four highest-paid athletes over the past year were soccer players, according to Forbes' 2022 list.

Lionel Messi topped the list released on Wednesday with a reported income of $130 million, while Cristiano Ronaldo was third on $115m, ahead of Neymar with $95m.

Almost 58% of Messi's income between May 2021 and May 2022 was categorized as "on-field" by Forbes, meaning it came from "prize money, salaries and bonuses".

The other $55m of Messi's estimated income was the result of licensing agreements and sponsorship deals with the likes of Socios, Adidas, Budweiser and Pepsi.

Messi moved from Barcelona to Paris Saint-Germain in August.

Ronaldo rejoined Manchester United from Juventus in the same month.

According to Forbes, Ronaldo - who has more Instagram followers than any other person in the world - also made $55m in "off-field" income in the last year.

Ronaldo has promoted brands including Nike, Herbalife and Clear shampoo.

Neymar was the only other soccer player on Forbes' top 10 list of the world's highest-paid athletes, which also featured four basketballers, one tennis legend, an NFL icon and a boxing champion.

Name	Total earnings	"On-Field"	"Off-Field"	Age	Sport
1. Lionel Messi	$130m	$75m	$55m	34	Soccer
2. LeBron James	$121.2m	$41.2m	$80m	37	Basketball
3. Cristiano Ronaldo	$115m	$60m	$55m	37	Soccer
4. Neymar	$95m	$70m	$25m	30	Soccer
5. Steph Curry	$92.8m	$45.8m	$47m	34	Basketball
6. Kevin Durant	$92.1m	$42.1m	$50m	33	Basketball
7. Roger Federer	$90.7m	$0.7m	$90m	40	Tennis
8. Canelo Alvarez	$90m	$85m	$5m	31	Boxing
9. Tom Brady	$83.9m	$31.9m	$52m	44	Football
10. Giannis Antetokounmpo	$80.9m	$39.9m	$41m	27	Basketball

PSG forward Lionel Messi pictured in May 2022 :: IMAGO/HMB-Media/Joaquim Ferreira