Cristiano Ronaldo beats Lionel Messi to be crowned the fastest earning athlete in the world

Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi need less than a week to earn 1 million and Both are the Legends of Football!!

Cristiano Ronaldo got the better of Lionel Messi as he beat his rival to become the fastest earning athlete in the world. We may be into a new year but Cristiano Ronaldo has been given another reason to point to why he had a better 2016 than Lionel Messi.

After winning the Champions League and Euro 2016 on the field, Ronaldo’s exploits saw him collect the Ballon d’Or and the Best FIFA Men’s Player.

The Real Madrid forward tops Forbes magazine’s list for the first time, having earned $88million (£70.6m) last year, up from $80m (£64.2m) in 2015. Messi, meanwhile, follows in second-place with his income totalling $81m ($65m).

Since the list’s inception in 1990, athletes from individual sports have tended to top the list. Ronaldo is only the second athlete from a team sport to head the rankings, after basketball icon Michael Jordan.

The figures released by Expert Market UK break down sports stars’ earnings based on the Forbes rich list and place them into context with the average 9-5 job of any working professional.

The study shows that based on a normal 9-5 working day, Cristiano Ronaldo would need only 45 hours or a total of 5.68 working days to reach the magical figure of £1 million. Lionel Messi is also not too bad and is second on this list taking only 5.96 days to reach the million mark.

After the top 3, the list becomes more varied with Formula one drivers Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel at 4^th and 5^th followed by American football star Eli Manning and professional boxer Floyd ‘Money’ Mayweather.

Extra Cover: Records & Achievements of Messi vs Ronaldo

Famous baseball player Ryan Howard takes the eighth position, followed by Real Madrid’s Gareth Bale who is the only other footballer in the top 10. The top 10 list is rounded off by Basketball legend and superstar Lebron James.

Other famous names include Wayne Rooney at 13^th, Eden Hazard at 17^th and Sergio Aguero at 18^th   while UFC fighter Ronda Rousey is the fastest woman to £1 million narrowly beating out Tennis star Serena Williams.

Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal do not feature anywhere close to the top 10, with the Swiss maestro taking 40.78 days while Nadal takes 57.84 days to earn the same amount. However, the study shows that top sports stars definitely earn a lot more than any other profession with even CEOs of companies taking around 8 years on an average to earn £1 million.

Alongside Ronaldo, Messi is the only other footballer to place in Forbes’ top 20. His team-mate Neymar ranks joint-21st with Rafael Nadal, who both earned $37.5m (£30.1m).

Zlatan Ibrahimovic follows in 23rd-place ($37.4m/£30m) and Wales international Gareth Bale ($35.9m/£28.8m) completes the top 25.

FIFA 18: First details revealed:

“Ronaldo’s Real Madrid contract is worth more than $50m-a-year in salary and bonuses, and runs through 2018.

“The three-time FIFA Player of the Year is a marketing juggernaut earning $32m off the pitch by our count. He kicked off a contract extension with Nike last year worth $13m-a-year. Other Ronaldo endorsement partners include Tag Heuer, Herbalife, Pokerstars, Clear Shampoo and more. He has his own line of suits, cologne, shirts, shoes, underwear and hotels under construction.

“Ronaldo’s massive social media presence is a boon to marketers, encompassing 215 million followers across Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. He posted 255 times on social media promoting a brand over the last year. Those posts generated $176m in media value, according to Hookit, which tracks sponsorship value in social and digital media.”

Ronaldo, whose income rose from $80m in 2015, earns $7m-per-year more than great rival Messi, who lies in second place, according to the study. Meanwhile, Barcelona and Brazil attacker Neymar lies 21st ($37.4), Manchester United forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic is 23rd ($37.4m) and Ronaldo’s club-mate Gareth Bale is 25th ($35.9m).

The list of the 10 fastest earning sportsman according to Expert Market UK: