Conor McGregor, Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and more: the ten athletes who won the most during the pandemic

The coronavirus pandemic has wreaked havoc worldwide both in health and economics, however, there are those who despite the crisis have won exorbitant sums and among these people several figures of world sport stand out. According to the list published by Forbes magazine, there were ten athletes who together earned $ 1.05 billion, a figure that even exceeds that of 2019.

The great surprise of the ranking is that the leader had practically no activity in the period computed: from May 2020 to May 2021. Conor McGregor was the one who earned the most money in that period despite not having fought and this is due to the fact that his smart investments allowed him to pocket $ 180 million. The UFC star Irishman sold his shares of the whiskey brand Proper No. Twelve for almost $ 150 million, which explains his scale to the top.

It's the first time the 32-year-old fighter has ranked first and his second appearance in the Top 10. His best placement had been in 2018, when he was fourth, due to his successful fight against Floyd Mayweather, who led the table that year. The Irishman's last appearance in the Octagon was in January 2020, when he was knocked out by Dustin Poirier, a fight for which he took around $ 22 million.

Lionel Messi appears second in the ranking. The Argentine, star of Barcelona, had the gesture of reducing his salary when football had stopped to collaborate with the Catalan club and despite this he entered the podium with his USD 130 million. These earnings, which don't have tax deductions, don't only correspond to his salary, but also to what he obtains from various companies that sponsor him and his companies: USD 33 million.

The Argentine took a pro step ahead of his soccer arch rival, Cristiano Ronaldo, third this time with USD 120 million. His annual salary at Juventus is USD 67 million, which represents more than 50% of his income, while the rest comes from his sponsors, such as Nike, and from various investments that include his brand of clothing, accessories and even hotel chain.

The most peculiar case is that of Roger Federer who, due to his injuries and the pandemic, had practically no activity on the ATP circuit, but due to the profits generated outside the court, he managed to establish himself in seventh place with USD 90 million.

The complete list of the athletes who won the most

1) Conor McGregor, 32 years old (Ireland), MMA: $ 180 million

2) Lionel Messi, 33 years old (Argentina), soccer: USD 130 Million

3) Cristiano Ronaldo, 36 years old (Portugal), soccer: USD 120 million

4) Dak Prescott, 27, (United States), NFL: $ 107.5 million

5) LeBron James, 36 (USA), NBA: $ 96.5 million

6) Neymar, 29 years old (Brazil), soccer: USD 95 million

7) Roger Federer, 39 years old (Switzerland) tennis: USD 90 million

8) Lewis Hamilton, 36 (Great Britain), Formula 1: $ 82 million

9) Tom Brady, 43 (USA), NFL: $ 76 million

10) Kevin Durant, 32 (USA), NBA: $ 75 million