Conor McGregor admitted it'd be 'hard to beat' Lionel Messi as the highest-paid sports star of 2021 following the footballer's mega transfer to Paris Saint-Germain, and it's the only time he's humbly accepted defeat.
McGregor was named the highest-paid athlete in the world by Forbes last May.
The UFC superstar topped the list with a staggering $180 million (£130 million) in earnings, while Messi had an income of $130 million (£94.5 million).
The Irishman made the confession on social media in a post that accompanied a picture of him wearing a PSG kit.
He mentioned Messi's PSG teammate Sergio Ramos and taunted Roger Federer.
His Instagram caption reads: "At the Beverly Hills supporting my bro @sergioramos at @psg.
"It's crazy how this team has scooped all these incredible players up, and in such quick succession too.
"Messi is on 75mill U.S dollar a year, flat. Not including endorsement on top.
"He be hard to beat this year on the Forbes list without one more fight in the book.
"But that said don't count me out. We are only 2 months into this new Forbes fiscal year and I already have his years wage boxed off hahaahahahaha #forbesnumberone #theothercatsbeatanyway #doublefederer."
McGregor is currently recovering from a broken leg suffered in his UFC 264 clash against Dustin Poirier.
He's eyeing his return to the Octagon later this year having lost his last two bouts to Poirier.
The 33-year-old hasn't won a fight since thrashing Donald Cerrone in 40 seconds at UFC 246 back in January 2020.
Featured Image Credit: Conor McGregor/InstagramTopics: Conor Mcgregor, Paris Saint-Germain, Lionel Messi