India, May 16 -- Cristiano Ronaldo's stocks on the football pitch may have gone past their bull run days but his brand value is setting new benchmarks in the world of sports economics. If fit, fitter, fittest best described Ronaldo and his work ethic during his heydays, now it's his Richie Rich-like net worth that requires the jaws to be picked up from the floor. The Portuguese superstar towers over Lionel Messi, LeBron James and every other athlete that you can possibly think of in the Forbes latest list of the world's highest-paid athletes.

At 40, Ronaldo topped the Forbes list of the world's richest sports stars for the third year in a row. Overall, this was the Portuguese football legend's fifth year overall on top. Ronaldo earned an...