Lewis Hamilton may not have won the 2016 World Championships, but that hasn’t stopped the champion three times from retaining his other title, as the highest paid sports player in Britain.
After two seasons of Formula 1 domination, the Brit was pretty much promoted last season by his Mercedes teammate, Nico Rosberg, who held out in the final race to win the title. The Finn retired shortly thereafter.
That didn’t stop the 32-year-old from Stevenage despite his wealth growing by £ 25m to leave him with a staggering £ 131m, retaining the title he has held since 2014, when it was just £ 68m!
Hamilton is followed on the list by two Manchester United forwards with Zlatan Ibrahimovic overtaking Wayne Rooney as the richest footballer in the country. The Swede’s wealth is £ 110 million, exceeding Rooney’s £ 93 million.
F1 teammate Jenson Button is largely retired but racing in Monaco at the end of the month, fourth behind United’s front line, an increase from £ 9m to £ 86m.
Rory McIlroy is in the top five, the Northern Ireland golfer made the biggest jump in the top 10 list earning an extra £ 26 million to £ 82 million.
Kingdom rider Andy Murray takes sixth place with 77 million pounds and is followed by the first of two Manchester coaches, Jose Mourinho with 61 million pounds.
Gareth Bale is next on the list with ‘just’ £ 54 million and the top 10 is finished by basketball star Luol Deng and Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola, both with £ 50 million!
The Sunday Times 2017 rich list of sports
1. Lewis Hamilton, car racing, 2017 wealth £ 131 million, up £ 25 million
2. Zlatan Ibrahimovic, football, 2017 wealth £ 110 million, new entry
3. Wayne Rooney, football, 2017 wealth £ 93 million, up £ 11 million
4. Jenson button, car racing, 2017 wealth £ 86 million, up £ 9 million
5. Rory McIlroy, golf, 2017 wealth £ 82 million, increase of £ 26 million
6. Sir Andy Murray, tennis, 2017 wealth £ 77 million, up £ 20 million
7. Jose Mourinho, football, 2017 wealth £ 61 million, up £ 11 million
8. Gareth Bale, football, 2017 wealth £ 54 million, up £ 20 million
9 = Luol Deng, basketball, 2017 wealth £ 50 million, increase of £ 7 million
9 = Pep Guardiola, football, 2017 wealth £ 50 million, new entry