Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo has been knocked off his perch as the top-paid European celebrity by Harry Potter author JK Rowling.
The Real Madrid star is ranked fifth on a global scale and is also the world’s most renumerated sportsperson
On a global scale, Ronaldo is the highest-paid sportsman, beating out NBA superstar LeBron James ($86.2m) and great rival Lionel Messi ($80m) of Barcelona, who is squeezed into third.
They are the only two footballers to make the top 10, with four basketball players (Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry and James Harden), one tennis player (Roger Federer), one NFL star (Andrew Luck), one golfer (Rory McIlroy) and F1 driver Lewis Hamilton completing the top 10.
The 32-year-old Portuguese is the fifth best-paid celebrity on the planet. Sean Combs, better known as P Diddy, tops the list having generated earnings of $130m during 2017, while Beyonce ($105m) is ranked second. Then come Rowling and Drake ($94m).
He is one of three footballers to command a place in the top 20, with club-mate Gareth Bale worth $34m and Manchester United star Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who is currently battling his way back from a serious knee problem, with $32m.
The former Manchester United man, who is the current Ballon d’Or holder and favourite to lift the prestigious individual award once again this year, is reported by Forbes to earn $93 million during 2017, $2m less than Rowling.
The upper part of the list is dominated by musicians, notably Adele, Elton John, Paul McCartney and Calvin Harris, with a smattering of sportsmen as well as celebrity chef Gordon Ramsey.
WHO ARE EUROPE’S TOP 20 BEST-PAID CELEBRITIES?
1 J.K Rowling $95m
2 Cristiano Ronaldo $93m
3 Coldplay $88m
4 Adele $69m
5 Roger Federer $64m
6 Elton John $60m
7 Gordon Ramsey $60m
8 Paul McCartney $54m
9 Rory McIlroy $50m
10 Calvin Harris $48m
11 Lewis Hamilton $46m
12 Simon Cowell $43.5m
13 Tiesto $39m
14 Sebastian Vettel $38.5m
15 Novak Djokovic $37.6m
16 Ed Sheeran $37m
17 Fernando Alonso $36m
18 Gareth Bale $34m
19 Conor McGregor $34m
20 Zlatan Ibrahimovic $32m
