Cristiano Ronaldo 10th, Messi 13th, on Forbes’ list of highest paid celebrities

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Cristiano Ronaldo 10th, Messi 13th, on Forbes’ list of highest paid celebrities

10:13 CAT | 07 Dec 2015

In file Club of Mozambique / Cristiano Ronaldo

Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo is in the top 10 of the highest paid celebrities in the world, according to the latest Forbes 100 list.

Ronaldo, 30, earned $52.6 million from his salary and winnings, while topping that up with $27m from endorsements such as Nike and his own underwear and shirt line “CR7,” for a total of $79.5m.

The Portuguese sold his image rights to Singaporean tycoon Peter Lim, who owns Primera Division club Valencia, on Monday and was named football’s biggest earner on Forbes’ 2015 list of the world’s highest-paid athletes.

A much-vaunted prodigy when snapped up by Manchester United from Sporting Lisbon in 2003, £80 million star Cristiano Ronaldo is now one of the best-known players on the planet, and a hero for Real Madrid and Portugal.

Two others from the world of sport sit atop the rankings with boxing’s Floyd Mayweather ($300m) and Manny Pacquiao ($160m) earning more than anyone else after their high-profile fight in Las Vegas earlier this year.

Barcelona striker Lionel Messi is No. 13 with a total of $74m – $51.8m from his salary and $22m from his endorsements with the likes of Samsung and Adidas.

Barcelona’s Lionel Messi is the heir apparent to the throne left vacant by Argentine legend Diego Maradona.

Many believe that Messi will be even better than Maradona and the four-time World Player of the Year star has shown evidence he may well be already.

However, there are only four other footballers in the top 100.

PSG and Sweden striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic failed to break the top 50, as he is tied No. 55 with Formula One racing driver Lewis Hamilton at $39m.

At 25, Ronaldo’s teammate at Real Madrid, Gareth Bale, is one of the youngest on the list but his wealth of $35m puts him down in joint-67th place with U.S. TV host David Letterman.

Barcelona’s Brazilian star Neymar comes in at joint-82nd with Britney Spears, Eminem and Indian cricket star Mahendra Singh Dhoni with $31m, while Real Madrid’s James Rodriguez completes football’s interest with an 89th placed finish for his $39m.

Source: ESPNFC