Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Floyd Mayweather: Sport's top earners over the last decade and how much they pocketed

Ten years of highs, and the salaries to match for the biggest names in the game

• 

  Lewis Hamilton $400m (Dh1.5 billion) - the six times world Formula One champion, who won the last race of the season in Abu Dhabi, is in a league of his own. PA

• 

  Kevin Durant ($425m) - the Brooklyn Nets basketball player has been selected in 10 NBA All-Star teams and has won two NBA championships. Endorsement deals with Nike and Foot Locker go a long way to boosting his earnings. Getty

• 

  Manny Pacquiao ($435m) - the long-enduring Filipino boxer is the only eight-division world champion in the history of the sport. Pacquiao has generated 20 million in pay-per-view buys alone. USA Today

• 

  Phil Mickelson ($480m) - the American left-handed golfer has been in the world top 50 for 25 consecutive years, with 700 weeks in the top 10. He has won every Major apart from the US Open, where he has been runner-up six times. AP

• 

  Tiger Woods ($615m) - one of the most famous athletes of all time, some of that because of his off-course troubles. He has been the No 1 player in the world for the most consecutive weeks. Second only to Jack Nicklaus in Major wins. AP

• 

  Roger Federer ($640m) - the veteran Swiss player has won an incredible 20 grand slam titles and has been in a record 31 finals. He has been named the ATP Player of the Year and ITF World Champion five times and won the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year award a record five times. Signed a 10-year, $300 million deal with Uniqlo in 2018. AFP

• 

  LeBron James ($680m) - Rivals Michael Jordan as the greatest basketball player of all time. Fourth in all-time career points scored, and ninth in all-time assists. The LA Lakers star has been voted onto the All-NBA First Team 12 times and has been featured in books, documentaries, and television commercials. AFP

• 

  Lionel Messi ($750m) - Captain of Barcelona and one of the all time great footballers. The Argentine has won a record six Ballon d'Or awards, has scored the most a Liga goals (432), most hat-tricks (35) and has scored over 700 goals for club and country. Has been sponsored by adidas since 2006. AFP

• 

  Cristiano Ronaldo ($800m) - Juventus superstar as Messi's greatest rival. Talked about going into acting while in Dubai this week. Ronaldo holds the record for most goals scored in the Champions League (128) and has more than 700 career goals for club and country. EPA

• 

  Floyd Mayweather ($915m) - He has held multiple world titles in five weight classes and "retired" with an undefeated record (50-0), although has talked of a comeback. Mayweather has generated approximately 24 million PPV buys and $1.67 billion in revenue throughout his career. Topped more than $500m in earnings for his 2015 and 2017 fights against Manny Pacquiao and Conor McGregor. AFP

A decade draws to a close and it has been packed with some very special sporting moments, and some soaring rewards for the superstars.

Who can forget Super Saturday at the London Olympics, Roger Federer and all his Grand Slam titles, Tiger Woods and his return to the Masters podium, and Anthony Joshua beating Wladimir Klitschko?

The last 10 years have seen these and many, many more great sporting achievements.

And while the stars of sport have climbed ever higher into the public consciousness, their earnings have not taken a back seat.

Huge endorsements, TV money, and, of course, brilliant athleticism have seen the money on offer to the elite go into the stratosphere.

American business magazine Forbes has kept a tally for many years. Some simple calculations have turned this into the top earners for the last decade.

Forbes’ rankings looks at salary, prize money, bonuses, endorsements, appearance fees and other income.

There are a pair of from boxing, football, basketball and golf, but no women in the top 10. Serena Williams is the only woman among the 40, something which will surely change come the 2030 rankings. Here is the countdown from 10 to one.