RONAL DOUGH!
Real Madrid star tops Forbes’ Rich List of athletes
Cristiano ronaldo leads Forbes’ rich List of athletes – but Conor Mcgregor and rory Mcilroy are biting at his heels.
The Real Madrid striker, 32, earned €78million last year – making him the highest paid European sports star. The former Manchester United footballer missed out on the top spot in the world of celebrities by €1.1million – beaten into second place by Harry Potter author JK Rowling. The figures, an estimate by Forbes, are calculated before taxes and management fees – and Ronaldo’s earnings are largely made up of his Real Madrid contract and endorsement deals. Half of the Top 20 Rich List is made up of sports stars. Professional golfer Rory, 28, from Holywood, Co Down, leaps up to ninth place with €41million. That makes him the only sports man from Ireland in the Top 10. But not too far behind him is MMA champ Mcgregor, putting in an impressive display at 18th with €28.5million. He is tied with Wales and Real Madrid winger Gareth Bale who earned the same amount last year. But Mcgregor’s total doesn’t include his massive haul from the Floyd Mayweather fight – estimated at €86million. Back in 2008 The Notorious was on social welfare and struggling to get by on €188 per week. But he was paid $1,000,000 after UFC 196 in 2016 despite losing to Nate Diaz, becoming the first UFC fighter to earn a seven-figure sum for one fight. The 29-year-old also rakes in cash from lucrative sponsorship deals. The flashy Dubliner is well known for his expensive taste and often takes to Instagram to show off his extravagant purchases. Following his Mayweather showdown he splashed out on a yacht. He named the vessel 188 after his prefame weekly dole payments. Also listed in the Top 20 from the sports world are Swiss tennis star – and World No2 – Roger Federer in fifth place with €53million. Formula One, German driver Sebastian Vettel is in 14th place with €32million, narrowly beating tennis star Novak Djokovic from Serbia in 15th place with €31.7million.