The top-earning non-American athletes

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By Jonah Freedman, SI.com

It's boom time for foreign-born athletes. Despite the slow economy, the average earnings of the top 20 non-American sportsmen are at an all-time high $29.5 million. Of those 20, only four play in U.S.-based leagues, led by perennial powerhouse David Beckham, who is back in Major League Soccer with the Los Angeles Galaxy at least through the end of this season.

Internationally, soccer and Formula 1 racing are catching up with the high-paying NBA and Major League Baseball in terms of payout. Six Europe-based footballers in addition to Becks make this year's list, while four F1 drivers also take the checkered flag here with earnings in excess of $20 million each.

In all, this year's list features seven soccer players, five motor-sports racers, two NBA stars, two golfers, two tennis players, one baseball player and one boxer. As always, our list includes salary, bonuses, endorsement income and appearance fees. For the Fortunate 50 list of the top-earning American athletes, click here.

1

David Beckham

Los Angeles Galaxy (MLS)
Great Britain

Last Year's Rank: 1

$45,200,000

2

Kimi Räikkönen

Auto Racing
Finland

Last Year's Rank: 2

$40,100,000

3

Manny Pacquiao

Boxing
Philippines

Last Year's Rank: NR

$40,000,000

4

Lionel Messi

FC Barcelona (Soccer)
Argentina

Last Year's Rank: 4

$39,900,000

5

(Tie)

Fernando Alonso

Auto Racing
Spain

Last Year's Rank: 6

$35,000,000

5

(Tie)

Valentino Rossi

Motor Sports
Italy

Last Year's Rank: 7

$35,000,000

7

Yao Ming

Houston Rockets (NBA)
China

Last Year's Rank: 8

$33,070,550

8

Lewis Hamilton

Auto Racing
Great Britain

Last Year's Rank: 11

$32,800,000

9

Roger Federer

Tennis
Switzerland

Last Year's Rank: 5

$29,561,341

10

Vijay Singh

Pro Golf
Fiji

Last Year's Rank: NR

$28,681,028

11

Ronaldinho

AC Milan (soccer)
Brazil

Last Year's Rank: 3

$27,400,000

12

Cristiano Ronaldo

Real Madrid (soccer)
Portugal

Last Year's Rank: 9

$25,500,000

13

Sergio García

Pro Golf
Spain

Last Year's Rank: NR

$24,976,830

14

Thierry Henry

FC Barcelona (Soccer)
France

Last Year's Rank: 9

$23,700,000

15

Ichiro Suzuki

Seattle Mariners (MLB)
Japan

Last Year's Rank: 10

$22,500,000

16

Dirk Nowitzki

Dallas Mavericks (NBA)
Germany

Last Year's Rank: 18

$22,077,904

17

Maria Sharapova

Tennis
Russia

Last Year's Rank: 13

$21,937,879

18

(Tie)

Jenson Button

Auto Racing
Great Britain

Last Year's Rank: NR

$21,100,000

18

(Tie)

Kaká

Real Madrid (soccer)
Brazil

Last Year's Rank: 19

$21,100,000

20

Zlatan Ibrahimovic

Inter Milan (soccer)
Sweden

Last Year's Rank: NR

$19,500,000