Manchester United star Cristiano Ronaldo below Lionel Messi in Forbes 2022 rich list

Manchester United star Cristiano Ronaldo has been pipped to being crowned Forbes' highest-paid athlete for 2022 by his long-time rival Lionel Messi and Basketball icon LeBron James.

For the second year running, the Portugal captain was behind the Paris Saint-Germain attacker in the list collected by the American business magazine. The Argentine won a record-breaking seventh Ballon d'Or honour earlier this year, months after completing his shock move from Barcelona to Paris Saint-Germain.

According to Forbes, Messi topped the list, earning a total of $130m (£106m) — $75m (£59.6m) on-field and $55m (£43.7m) off-field — between 2021 and 2022. Ronaldo in 2021 secured a return to the Premier League as he ended his 12-year stint away from United after missing out on winning Serie A with Juventus.

READ MORE: Garnacho and United give fans what they have been waiting for in FA Youth Cup final

LA Lakers basketball star James ranked second in the list after earning $121m (£96.2m). Despite missing out on the NBA playoffs, he featured in a Super Bowl commercial and signed an endorsement deal with Crypto.com as well as playing a starring role in the modern remake of the classic film, Space Jam.

Ronaldo came third in the list with earnings totalling $115m (£91.4m) suffering a reported $5m drop than the 2021 findings where he finished below the 34-year-old with Conor McGregor topping the list that year. He last finished above Messi in 2020 after earning $105m.

Sign up to our United newsletter so you never miss an update from Old Trafford this season.