Cristiano cedes No. 1 position as Europe's top paid celebrity

Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo is no longer in pole position as Europe's top paid celebrity with the striker from Madeira having been overtaken in the ranking by author J.K Rowling, famous for her series of Harry Potter novels. The British writer tops the list with an income of 95 million dollars for 2017.

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All is not bad news for CR7 however with the striker retaining his position as highest paid sportsperson in the world with an income of 93 million dollars. Other footballers in the ranking include Welsh international Gareth Bale and Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

Forbes Rich List (Europe)

The only Spanish sportsperson to feature in the general European listing is Asturian born F1 driver Fernando Alonso, who claims 16th spot with an income of 36 million dollars.

1 - J.K.Rowling: UK, 95 million dollars

2 - Cristiano Ronaldo: Portugal, 93 m

3 - Coldplay: UK, 88 m

4 - Adele: UK, 69 m

5 - Roger Federer: Switzerland, 64 m

6 - Elton John: UK, 60 m

6 - Gordon Ramsey: UK, 60 m

7 - Paul McCartney: UK, 54 m

8 - Rory McIlroy: UK, 50 m

9 - Calvin Harris: UK, 48 m

10 - Lewis Hamilton: UK, 46 m

11 - Simon Cowell: UK, 43,5 m

12 - Tiesto: Holland, 39 m

13 - Sebastian Vettel: Germany, 38,5 m

14 - Novak Djokovic: Serbia, 37,6 m

15 - Ed Sheeran: UK, 37 m

16 - Fernando Alonso: Spain, 36 m

18 - Gareth Bale: UK, 34 m

18 - Conor McGregor: Irleland, 34 m

20 - Zlatan Ibrahimovic: Sweden 32 m

Global ranking

According to the latest Forbes Rich list world ranking, Cristiano Ronaldo is the fifth best paid celebrity on the planet.

Musician and rapper Sean Combs (130 million dollars), Beyoncé (105 million), J.K Rowling (95) and Canadian rapper Drake (94) are ahead of the forward. 

Barcelona forward Leo Messi appears in 14th place in the Top 20 with an income of 80 million dollars for the year.

Other personalities from thew world of sport in the ranking include NBA star Lebron James with 85 million dollars, Roger Federer (84) in 23rd place and Kevin Durant (Golden State Warriors) in 25th place on 60 million dollars.

To create their ranking, Forbes take into account such barometers as base salary, prize money, sponsorship deals and image rights deals.

1. Cristiano Ronaldo, 93 million dollars

2. LeBron James, 86,2 m

3. Lionel Messi, 80 m

4. Roger Federer, 64 m

5. Kevin Durant, 60,6 m

6. Andrew Luck, 50 m

6. Rory McIlroy,  50 m

8. Stephen Curry, 47,3 m

9. James Harden, 46,6 m

10. Lewis Hamilton, 46 m