James Warren
TENNIS star Roger Federer has been revealed as topping Forbes’ top 100 earning sportspersons list in 2020.
It is the first time the 39-year-old has taken the spot, thanks to an enviable list of sponsorship endorsements including Credit Suisse, Mercedes Benz and Uniqlo.
When added to his general earnings and winners bonuses, Federer netted a cool $106.3 million (€89.9 million) during 2020, €100 million (€84.7 million) of which came from sponsorships.
It is also the first time a tennis player has topped the list since it began in 1990.
Second in the table this year is Juventus striker Cristiano Ronaldo who earned a whopping €105 million (€88.9 million).
Ronaldo has longstanding endorsements with Nike, Altice and Herbalife as well as his own CR7 brand, worth a staggering €45 million (€3.8 million) off the field.
Barcelona legend Lionel Messi rounds out the top three with €104 million (€88 million) in earnings, surely a silver lining for the controversy surrounding his relationship with the club.
His 2020 payout means that Messi has also joined an exclusive group of fellow sports stars after surpassing $1 billion (€840 million) in career earnings.
He joins stars such as Floyd Mayweather and Michael Jordan in the billionaires’ club and tops the highest paid footballer list for career earnings.
Forbes’ list this year has shown a decrease in total earning for the first time in four years thanks to the coronavirus pandemic, as many championships have been shortened and many events cancelled.
The full list total earnings topped €3.6 billion (€3.04 billion), 9% below 2019 and the lowest since boxers Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao earned €400 million in pay-per-view for their famous2016 fight.
2020 also marks the first year in history that two women have made the list, tennis stars Serena Williams and Naomi Osaka.
