2008 SI International 20
Here are the top 10 of the Sports Illustrated Magazine's International 20 list for the year 2008, ranking the highest paid athletes from around the world.
As with all International 20 lists, it only includes athletes from outside of the USA, sorted by total earnings (salary, winnings, endorsements and appearance fees). See also the top 10 American athletes on the 2008 Fortunate 50 list.
| Name | Country | Sport | earnings (US$ million) | previous year | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | David Beckham | Great Britain | Soccer | 48.2 | 5 |
| 2. | Kimi Räikkönen | Finland | Auto Racing | 46.0 | - |
| 3. | Ronaldinho | Brazil | Soccer | 37.5 | 2 |
| 4. | Lionel Messi | Argentina | Soccer | 35.8 | - |
| 5. | Roger Federer | Switzerland | Tennis | 35.1 | 3 |
| 6. | Fernando Alonso | Spain | Auto Racing | 35.0 | 1 |
| 7. | Valentino Rossi | Italy | Motor Sports | 34.0 | 4 |
| 8. | Yao Ming | China | Basketball | 31.7 | 6 |
| 9. | Cristiano Ronaldo | Portugal | Soccer | 30.3 | - |
| 10. | Ichiro Suzuki | Japan | Baseball | 27.6 | 7 |
Source
- List as published on SI.com
Related Pages
- About the International 20, and other Sports Illustrated Lists
- Other sporting lists, including the Forbes list of the World's Best Paid Athletes
- More about the World of Sport
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