Al Nassr forward, Cristiano Ronaldo, has been ranked as the highest-paid athlete in the world by the American business magazine Forbes, beating other top athletes, including Lionel Messi and LeBron James.

According to Forbes, the former Manchester United star earned an estimated $260m (£205m) in the past 12 months, a significant increase from the $136m (£108.7) the Portuguese earned during the same period last year.

It is the fourth time in his career that Ronaldo would be named the highest-paid athlete in the world by Forbes.

Meanwhile, Ronaldo’s long-time rival on the pitch, Messi, dropped from second to third on the list of the top 10 highest-paid athletes in the world, having earned $135m (£107m) in the past 12 months.

Golfer Jon Rahm ranked second on the list with his $218m (£172m) income in the past 12 months, while basketballer James LeBron is fourth with $128.2m (£101m), followed by Greek-Nigerian basketballer Giannis Antetokounmpo, who earned $111m (£88m) during the same period.

French forward Kylian Mbappe is ranked sixth with $110m (£87m) earnings in the last 12 months. Neymar and Karim Benzema are next on the list with $108m (£85m) and $106m (£84m) income, respectively.

With $102m (£80m) and $100.5m (£79m) earnings respectively, basketballer Stephen Curry and American football player Lamar Jackson completed the top 10 ranking.