Federer surpasses Ronaldo, Messi as top-earning athlete

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Roger Federer has eclipsed Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi to top the yearly Forbes list of the highest-paid athletes on the planet. The Swiss maestro jumped four spots to sit top of the pile, earning $106.3million in the past year, as he becomes the first tennis player to lead the way.

That eye-watering figure puts the 20-time grand slam winner ahead of football stars Ronaldo ($105m), Messi ($104m) and Neymar ($95.5m). NBA icon LeBron James rounds out the top five, raking in $88.2m in a period when some sportspeople took wage cuts amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Endorsements account for most of Federer’s income, but he also undertook a tour of North and South America late last year to further boost his earnings.

“The coronavirus pandemic triggered salary cuts for soccer stars Messi and Ronaldo, clearing the way for a tennis player to rank as the world’s highest-paid athlete for the first time,” said Kurt Badenhausen, senior editor at Forbes.

“Roger Federer is the perfect pitchman for companies, resulting in an unparalleled endorsement portfolio of blue-chip brands worth $100million a year for the tennis great.”

Federer’s rise to the summit comes after fellow tennis player Naomi Osaka was announced as the highest paid female athlete, her $37.4m putting the Japanese 29th overall.