Rory McIlroy has been named as the richest young sports star in Britain and Ireland for the second consecutive year, according to The Sunday Times Rich List.
The golfer, who is one of only two non-football players on the list of stars aged 30 or under along with world heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua, saw his wealth for 2019 increase to £138 million.
McIlroy’s earnings put him comfortably in front of second-placed Gareth Bale, whose earnings rose £20 million to £94 million, and third-placed Sergio Aguero on £58 million.
The Northern Irishman’s victory at the Players Championship in March made him the third player after Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods to win four majors and 15 PGA Tour titles before the age of 30.
McIlroy turned 30 earlier this month.
In fourth place, boxing star Joshua saw his earnings rise £14 million to £49 million this year, a sum significantly supplemented by a reported £7 million annual income from sponsors including Jaguar, Lynx and Lucozade.
Rising to second place was Wales talisman Bale, who’s wealth increased by up to £20 million following a successful campaign in the Champions League with Real Madrid.
The 29-year-old scored a stunning overhead kick in the 3-1 win over Liverpool in the final last summer to see the Spanish giants win their third successive Champions League title.
However, Bale has fallen out of favour at the Bernabeu and could potentially leave Real following the return of Zinedine Zidane.
Bale’s current contract sees him earn £18.2 million-a-year after tax while his several lucrative endorsement deals added up to see him become one of the richest sports stars in Britain and Ireland.
Three of the richest young footballers this year made the Professional Footballers’ Association Premier League Team of the Year.
These were Man City striker Aguero, Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba (£37 million) and Young Player of the Year Raheem Sterling (£18 million) all made the list.
Aguero, ranked third on the list, became City’s record goal scorer with more than 200 goals, prompting sponsor Puma into gifting him a pair of gold-coloured football boots. The Argentine earns about £15 million a year, including a weekly salary of £250,000.
In all, sports stars accounted for just over a third – 17 out of 50 places – of the Young Rich List, where everyone has a minimum worth of £16 million this year.