Lionel Messi may have had to stay put at Barcelona but the Argentine legend did succeed in joining one new club this year -- the one reserved for sporting billionaires, according to Forbes magazine.

Axar.az informs that, the Argentine striker's career earnings of over one billion dollars (840 million euros) places the six-time Ballon d'Or winner in a group of mega-wealthy sports figures containing just Tiger Woods, Floyd Mayweather and his great rival on the pitch, Cristiano Ronaldo.

Forbes said that in 2020 Messi was the best paid footballer in the world with an income of $126 million from his Barca salary ($92 million for the 2020/2021 season) and $34 million from sponsors and other sources.

The 33-year-old knocked Juventus forward Ronaldo ($117 million) off the top of the football salary chart with Paris Saint-Germain's Neymar ($96 million) in third place.