Messi unseats Mayweather as highest-paid athlete - Forbes

FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - La Liga Santander - Eibar v FC Barcelona - Ipurua, Eibar, Spain - May 19, 2019 Barcelona's Lionel Messi REUTERS/Vincent West

(Reuters) - Barcelona and Argentina striker Lionel Messi dethroned five-division boxing world champion Floyd Mayweather as the highest paid athlete over the past year, according to the annual list published by business magazine Forbes on Tuesday.

Messi, who scored 36 goals while leading Barcelona to the La Liga title this year, earned $127 million (£100 million) between his salary and endorsements to move up one spot on the list of the world's 100 highest-paid athletes.