Who tops Forbes' 2024 rich list earning £205MILLION? As Kylian Mbappe, Karim Benzema and Giannis Antetokounmpo rank among the top 10 highest-paid athletes in the world

The annual Forbes list for the highest-paid athlete is out with history made across its top 10.

For the first time ever, the 10 stars have earned over $100million (£78m) each - with their earnings totalling $1.38bn (£1.03bn).

The financial boom within sports knows no bounds in terms of wages and endorsements - with athletes key beneficiaries of that.

This is exemplified straightaway by NFL star Lamar Jackson. The 27-year-old is placed 10th on the list at £79m ($100.5m) with his standing due to the £57m signing bonus he received from the Baltimore Ravens after signing a new deal last year. Once more he negotiated that as his own agent - meaning no cut was given to anyone else.

Ninth place in this list is the greatest shooter ever in basketball history: Stephen Curry.

The Golden State Warriors point guard's earnings total £81m ($102m). His exploits with a ball earn him just north of £41m, with the rest coming in off-the-court deals - such as his sponsorship with Under Armour.

Karim Benzema is the first footballer on the list, coming in eighth at £84m ($106m). It's clear to see where the French striker's earnings come from with his move to Saudi side Al-Ittihad last year the predominant factor.

The 36-year-old earns £79m playing in the Saudi Pro League, with the remaining difference coming off-the-pitch.

It's back-to-back footballers as Neymar (£85m/$108m) sits seventh. Like Benzema, he swapped European football for the Middle East - joining Al-Hilal instead. That deal with the club equates to £63m in earnings for the Brazilian. The rest is through endorsement deals which includes the launch of his own signature football boot with Puma.

Completing the hat-trick of footballers is a former team-mate of Benzema and Neymar in sixth-place: Kylian Mbappe (£87m/$110m).

The 25-year-old is leaving Paris Saint-Germain this summer but not before concluding a staggering £71m in on-field earnings.

Mbappe - who has deals with Nike, Oakley and Hublot - is expected to join Real Madrid this summer.

NBA champion Giannis Antetokounmpo is fifth on this list (£88m/$111m) and is the first athlete on here to make more money outside of the sport they play.

The Milwaukee Bucks cornerstone earns £36m with them this year, while £51m comes outside of playing basketball. In January, the 'Greek Freak' launched a production company and has a sixth signature shoe with Nike to come later this year.

Antetokounmpo is only bettered by one other basketball player in this list and that's LeBron James (£101m/$128.2m).

The four-time NBA champion earned £38m with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2024 but the bulk of his earnings come elsewhere.

Aside from his Nike endorsements, James added a deal with DraftKings in January and has also invested in PGA Tour Enterprises to expand his portfolio.

Lionel Messi is third on the list with earnings of £107m ($135m). Like Antetokounmpo and James, he earns more from non-playing activities.

His arrival at MLS side Inter Miami last year has shone the spotlight on the club - seeing their commercial income and opportunities rise. Aside from adidas, Apple and Konami, there are reports that the Argentina captain is about to launch his own sports drink with the maker of White Claw Hard Seltzer this summer too.

The biggest Forbes mover from 2023 though is Jon Rahm (£172m/$218m) who is now second on the list - up from 28th-place 12 months ago.

Rahm shocked the golfing world in December when he announced that he will be joining the Saudi-backed revel LIV Golf. The staggering switch has seen the Spaniard pocket £156m already.

As Forbes details; although he's yet to win a LIV event, he's already earned £5.2m ($6.6m) from seven tournaments in 2024, which would place him sixth on the PGA Tour's official money list this season (as of Monday).

The influence of the Middle East - and specifically Saudi Arabia - is strong in this list and that's underlined by the man who tops this 10: Cristiano Ronaldo.

The 39-year-old will collect £205million this year - a figure that allows him to top Forbes' list for a fourth time in his career.

Playing for Al-Nassr allows the Portuguese superstar earn an eye-watering £157m from his employers. He has retuned their investment by plundering in 33 goals in 28 matches so far, to top the goalscoring charts.

Making up the rest of the £48m is Ronaldo's stunning array of off-the-pitch deals. 

Nike and Herbalife are among those companies and Ronaldo recently joined Whoop as their global ambassador on Monday. The partnership and investment from Ronaldo coincides with the announcement of Whoop expanding its availability to Gulf Cooperation Council regions - Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain - in addition to Hong Kong, Israel, Korea, and Taiwan.