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STORY: Cristiano Ronaldo was the top earning athlete over the last 12 months, according to Forbes.

The magazine said the soccer player made $136 million.

It comes after Ronaldo moved to Saudi Arabia's Al-Nassr, and doubled his annual playing salary.

His contract with the club is estimated to be worth around $220 million.

The Portuguese player's main on-pitch rival of the last decade also proved his closest match in earnings.

Lionel Messi was second on the Forbes list, with the World Cup winner earning $130 million.

Messi's Paris St. Germain team mate Kylian Mbappe sat third on $120 million.

Basketball great and La Lakers star LeBron James was fourth on $119.5 million.

While Mexican boxer Canelo Alvarez was fifth with $110 million.

Golfers also made it into the top ten in a divisive year for the sport.

The breakaway LIV Golf lured over some of the PGA Tour's top players with huge sums of money.

Dustin Johnson earned $107 million after making the controversial switch to the Saudi-backed tour.

Fellow LIV golfer Phil Mickelson earned $106 million.

Forbes said its on-field earning figures included all prize money, salaries and bonuses made in the last 12 months.

Off-field earnings include sponsorship deals, appearance fees and more.