Cristiano Ronaldo becomes the top most paid athlete in the world

Kevin Durant, Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and LeBron James

Cristiano Ronaldo has topped the Forbes list of the world's highest paid athletes for the first time.

The Real Madrid star became the first footballer to do so after raking in a whopping £60 million last year.

Ronaldo, 31, earned £38.4 million from salary and £21.6 million from endorsements to take him to the number one spot.

The retirement of boxer Floyd Mayweather left a vacancy at the top for the Portuguese sportsman to fill.

The three-time FIFA player of the year is described as a 'marketing juggernaut' and has a massive social media presence with 2145 million followers across Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Between June 1 2015 and June 1 2016, Ronald generated £120 million in advertising with social media posts for brands that sponsor him like Nike, Tag Heuer, and Herbalife.

Ronaldo's other business dealings include a line of suits, cologne, shirts, suits, underwear and even his own hotel.

Meanwhile, Barcelona star Lionel Messi is second in the list after earning £55.9 million, followed by US basketball star LeBron James in third on £53 million.

In fourth was Roger Federer on £46.5 million followed by US basketball star Kevin Durant on £38.6 million in fifth.

In total the top 100 athletes earned a total £2.1 billion, a slight decrease on the £2.2 billion earned last year boosted by the £316 million earned by Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao.

The highest earning Brit was Formula 1 driver Lewis Hamilton at 11 who earned £31.6 million.

Real Madrid star Gareth Bale was in 25th with £24.6 million and Wayne Rooney was 49th with £17.9 million.

Andy Murray was 74th having pulled in £15.8 million.