Tiger Woods is the highest-paid athlete in the world for the first time since his sex scandal

Tiger Woods

Tiger Woods is back on top of the world - in more ways than one.

The iconic golfer returned this year to the world No 1 spot he had held for so long until his self-imposed exile from the game December 2009.

The American has earned $78.1million in the last year. The vast majority of which came from endorsement deals worth $65million and the remaining $13.1million came from winnings. 

And now the 37-year-old is back at the top of Forbes' annual list of the world's 100 highest paid athletes.

Woods was top of the list for 11 consecutive years until 2012, when he was usurped by Swiss tennis star Roger Federer.

This has been a year of rehabilitation for Woods, who has come out from seemingly self-imposed hiding after the fallout from his multiple extramarital affairs surfaced.

Tiger Woods is back on top of the world - in more ways than one. The iconic golfer returned this year to the world No 1 spot he had held for so long until his self-imposed exile from the game December 2009. And now the 37-year-old is back at the top of Forbes' annual list of the world's 100 highest paid athletes. The top ten earning athletes according to Forbes includes (top row left to right) Tiger Woods, Roger Federer, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James and Drew Brees. They are followed closely by Aaron Rodgers, Phil Mickelson, David Beckham, Cristiano Ronadlo and Lionel Messi.

Football: Neymar, the money-making machine!

Brazilian star Neymar is the most marketable sportsperson in the world.

The Santos striker has been placed ahead of the likes of Lionel Messi, Usain Bolt and Lewis Hamilton at the top of SportsPro magazine's top 50 most marketable athletes. 

But why is a 21-year-old who has never played club football outside of Brazil or featured in a major international tournament considered more valuable than some of the greatest athletes across the sporting world?

                             Money man: Brazil and Santos star Neymar has been ranked the world's most marketable athlete again

David Cushnan, SportsPro editor-in-chief, explains that there are three key reasons why Neymar, who also topped the list last year, earned his position.

'Essentially the crux of it is we are trying to predict marketing value over the next three years. We're trying to forecast who is going to be worth investing from a sponsorship point of view but also who perhaps offers real value for money. 

'Our feeling is that Neymar has the World Cup coming up next year, where he's going to be the star at home, he's a megastar in Brazil. 

'He still has this big move to come, probably to Barcelona, that will launch him to whole new level of fame. And there is no doubt that Messi is the more talented player but you can make the argument he is not particularly charismatic off the pitch, not animated or confident in front of the camera.

Football:Bayern thrashes Barcelona in a "four-star" show

                                Barcelona's Xavi, centre, and team-mates look dejected after Bayern Munich's fourth goal

Bayern Munich's incredible season continued when they handed Barcelona one of their heaviest defeats for years, hammering the Catalans 4-0 in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final on Tuesday.

Thomas Mueller headed the recently-crowned Bundesliga champions ahead in the 25th minute and Mario Gomez turned in the second goal amid suspicions of offside early in the second half.

Arjen Robben added a third in the 73rd minute and Mueller then grabbed his second of the night as Barca collapsed dramatically in a game where Lionel Messi, returning from a hamstring injury, made little impact.

In doing so, Bayern avenged their defeat by the same score in the quarter-finals four years ago.

Robben nearly put Bayern ahead in the third minute after a clever backheel by Javi Martinez gave him a clear scoring chance but he shot straight at keeper Victor Valdes.

Barca then put together some intricate passing moves although they rarely threatened to score and Bayern had the next chance when a goalbound Philipp Lahm shot was blocked by defender Gerard Pique.

Pique also appeared to handle when he cleared the resulting corner but the referee was not interested.

It was not long before Bayern, who won the Bundesliga with six games to spare, went ahead with the help of an overhit corner by Franck Ribery.

His effort found Robben on the other side of the penalty area and a rare right-footed cross from the Dutchman found Dante whose header fell for Mueller to stoop and score.

Barca's most dangerous first-half effort was a low Pedro cross which Dante was lucky not to turn into his own net.

Bayern extended their lead from another corner as Mueller at the back post headed back into the middle for Gomez to turn the ball in at close range after 49 minutes although he may have been fractionally offside.

The Germans threatened another as shots from Mueller and Ribery flashed wide and then Robben headed wide from a free kick.

Barca, often reduced to long balls forward, managed to impose some of their possession football but were vulnerable on the break.

Robben exploited the gaps when he burst down the right for the third and, with Barca still reeling, Mueller blasted a David Alaba pass into the net for the fourth goal.

The rout equalled Barca's worst ever defeat in European competition. 

Football: “The Ballon d’Or should be named after Messi” – Ibrahimovic

Zlatan Ibrahimovic has showered encomiums on Barcelona forward, Lionel Messi, for winning the FIFA Ballon d’Or four times in a row.

The Argentine superstar scored 91 goals for club and country, on his way to being crowned to be the best player on the planet and thee Paris Saint-Germain striker joked it should be named after him.“He is the best player in the world right now,” Ibrahimovic told reporters at a press conference. “He has won four Ballon d’Ors. They should rename this award and call it Messi.

Record breaker: Lionel Messi scores in record 19th consecutive Barcelona game

Barcelona forward Lionel Messi became the first player in Spanish football history to score against every other team in La Liga consecutively.

The four-time world player of the year registered for the 19th game in a row as Barca drew 2-2 at Celta Vigo

Messi has scored 29 goals in the streak and his tally in all competitions this season now stands at 56.

Barca are top of the table, 13 points clear of Real Madrid, who are second, with nine games left to play.

I cannot wait to hear of the next record.

Messi proud of new Pope

Pope Francis holding up a jersey

Reigning world footballer of the year Lionel Messi on Thursday admitted his pride at hearing that the new Pope was from his home country Argentina.
“It is a source of pride for all Argentines that the Pope is from here,” said Messi, the captain of the Argentine national team, at a press conference on the eve of his country’s 2014 World Cup qualifier against Venezuela in Buenos Aires.
“Obviously I would like to meet him,” he added.
The new Pope Francis is known to be a football fan and a follower of Buenos Aires club San Lorenzo.