European champion with club and country in 2016, fresh from signing a new contract with Real Madrid and winning the FIFA World Player of the Year award, Cristiano Ronaldo has achieved pretty much everything there is in football.

And, if that isn't enough, life just got better for the Portuguese footballer celebrating his 32nd birthday.

Ronaldo scaled new heights after being officially crowned as the highest-paid sportsman by Forbes, becoming the first footballer to be the world's richest athlete.

Happy 32nd birthday to Cristiano Ronaldo.

802 games
568 goals 
215 assists 
22 trophies 
4 Ballon d'Ors 
3 UEFA best player   pic.twitter.com/4hdJ7vZomQ

He is now only the second team sport athlete to top Forbes' annual list since its inception in 1990. But, more importantly for his fans, Ronaldo pipped his long-time rival Lionel Messi who was ranked second in the list.

Happy 32nd birthday to The Best, The Record Breaker, The One & Only @Cristiano Ronaldo! Parabens Crack! pic.twitter.com/u2HZNVS2vA

The Real Madrid forward raked in an eye-watering $88 million in a calendar year. His incredible revenue came from his salary, his sponsorship endorsements and bonuses.

Against Ronaldo's riches, the Barcelona talisman earned $81.4 million in the same year. According to the Forbes' list, Ronaldo and Messi are the only footballers in the top 20 with Neymar ranked joint-21st with Rafael Nadal, who both earned $37.5 million.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!  
We wish #TheBest Men's Player 2016 @Cristiano all the best on his 32nd birthday today! ️?? pic.twitter.com/OP7tBh1Gx1

Manchester United striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic follows in at 23rd place ($37.4 million) and Gareth Bale ($35.9 million) completes the list of top 25.

Overall, the top 100 list features 26 baseball players, 21 from American football, 18 NBA stars, 12 footballers, seven tennis players, six racers, five golfers, three boxers and Usain Bolt (sole track athlete) and Conor McGregor (only UFC fighter).

Here's the list of top 10 richest athletes:

1. Cristiano Ronaldo (Football) - $88m

2. Lionel Messi (Football) - $81.4m

3. LeBron James (Basketball) - $77.2m

4. Roger Federer (Tennis) - $67.8m

5. Kevin Durant (Basketball) - $56.2m

6. Novak Djokovic (Tennis) - $55.8m

7. Cam Newton (American Football) - $53.1m

8. Phil Mickelson (Golf) - $52.9m

9. Jordan Spieth (Golf) - $52.8m

10. Kobe Bryant (Basketball) - $50m