Barcelona forward Lionel Messi has been named the world's highest-paid athlete in 2019 as per Forbes with $127 million (₹881 crore) in earnings. Messi's rival Cristiano Ronaldo, who topped the list in 2016 and 2017 and was third in 2018, moved to second with $109 million (₹756 crore). World's most expensive footballer Neymar came third with $105 million (₹728 crore).