London, Jun 19: In terms of footballing prowess, they are the top two players in the world at the moment. And thus, it should be no surprise that when comes to raking in the moolah, they are on the peak too.

According to the Sports illustrated's annually-compiled 'rich list', Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are the world's two wealthiest footballers. But in terms of annual income, both of them trail stars from other sports. However, the duo along with Wayne Rooney find a place among world sport"s top 20 earners.

Interestingly, Rooney is the only Premier League player int the list of the top 20 earners.

Despite all the troubles in his personnal life and a recent dip in form, Tiger Woods still continues to be the highest earning sportsperson with 41 million Pounds last year, although that was 18 million Pounds less than his 2009 earnings.

Phil Mickelson, another golfer remains the second highest earner among all global sporting icon.

Football, despite being the most popular sports on Earth, surprisingly doesn't have of its own in the list of the top five earners. Barcelona and Argentina striker Lionel Messi, was on the seventh spot behind the likes of Formula One's Fernando Alonso.

Messi, is followed by Cristiano Ronaldo. Rooney, is a surprise entry on the 18th spot overtaking the likes of David Beckham and Carlos Tevez, thanks to his renewed contracts.

Tennis superstar, Roger Federer is the third highest earning global sports icon.

The 'Fortunate 50" list, published each year in the USA by Sports Illustrated takes into account earnings, endorsements, bonuses and appearance fees of the players to compile its list.

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