Lionel Messi world's highest paid athlete with Cristiano Ronaldo also featuring in Top 10

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Paris Saint-Germain forward Lionel Messi has topped Forbes' list of the world's highest-paid athletes, with Manchester United's Cristiano Ronaldo also in the top 10.

Messi left Barcelona after the 2020-21 season, having previously spent his entire playing career with the Catalan club. He failed to lead PSG to European glory after signing a bumper deal with the French giants, but did score the goal which confirmed Les Parisiens as Ligue 1 champions.

Ronaldo was also on the move last summer, returning to Old Trafford after 12 years away. He has endured an even more disappointing season on the pitch, ending the campaign empty-handed, but has still earned enough on and off the pitch to join Messi on the podium.

The Forbes top 10 is dominated by athletes from other sports, with Messi, Ronaldo and PSG and Brazil forward Neymar the only footballers to make the cut. The 10 athletes on the list brought in a reported US$992m (£814m), with Messi accounting for $130m of that total.

Athletes' earnings combine their on-field and off-field earnings. The latter includes endorsements such as Messi's £15m deal with cryptocurrency platform Socios, which helped the Argentina international draw level with Ronaldo for earnings away from the pitch.

Neymar's fourth place on the list owes a lot to his $70m in on-field earnings. The Brazilian's