#4 – Lionel Messi
Lionel Messi (born 24th June, 1987) is an Argentine professional footballer who currently plays for Spanish club FC Barcelona and the Argentina national team. He is a forward and serves as captain for Argentina.
He is often ranked as the best player in the world and rated by some in the sport as the greatest of all time. Adidas recently launched his signature shoe and Turkish Airlines, who paired him with NBA superstar Kobe Bryant, have invested heavily in Barcelona’s most prolific goal scorer. Interestingly, so has the Spanish tax authority, who investigated him and his father for image rights tax evasion and ordered him to pay over $6 million!
Total Earnings: $64.7 Million
Salary/winnings: $41.7 Million
Endorsements: $23 Million