By Jonah Freedman, SI.com

Is there any question what sport is the most popular on earth? Our International 20 of the top-earning non-American athletes is dominated by nine soccer players, all of whom benefit here from one of the worst exchange rates on the dollar in years. Many have also been helped by the deep pockets of Chelsea billionaire owner Roman Abramovich, who is a George Steinbrenner on a global scale. (To read more about the soccer explosion on the 20, click here.)

Meanwhile, the retirement of reigning international king Michael Schumacher has opened the door for another Formula One superstar, Fernando Alonso. He may not be a household name yet, but he's gaining fast. (To read more on the Spanish ace, click here.) The rest of the International 20 is made up of golf and tennis stars, an Italian motorcycle-racing icon and five other athletes who make their living in U.S.-based leagues.

1

Fernando Alonso

Auto Racing
Spain

Last Year's Rank: 15

$35,000,000

2

Ronaldinho

FC Barcelona (Soccer)
Brazil

Last Year's Rank: 3

$32,700,000

3

Roger Federer

Tennis
Switzerland

Last Year's Rank: 7

$31,343,885

4

Valentino Rossi

Motor Sports
Italy

Last Year's Rank: 2

$30,000,000

5

David Beckham

Real Madrid/Los Angeles Galaxy (Soccer)
Great Britain

Last Year's Rank: 5

$29,700,000

6

Yao Ming

Houston Rockets (NBA)
China

Last Year's Rank: 13

$27,455,000

7

Ichiro Suzuki

Seattle Mariners (MLB)
Japan

Last Year's Rank: NR

$24,000,000

8

Maria Sharapova

Tennis
Russia

Last Year's Rank: 4

$23,799,501

9

Thierry Henry

Arsenal (Soccer)
France

Last Year's Rank: NR

$21,400,000

10

Michael Ballack

Chelsea (Soccer)
Germany

Last Year's Rank: NR

$20,900,000

11

Ronaldo

AC Milan (Soccer)
Brazil

Last Year's Rank: 8

$20,700,000

12

Hideki Matsui

New York Yankees (MLB)
Japan

Last Year's Rank: 9

$19,000,000

13

Dirk Nowitzki

Dallas Mavericks (NBA)
Germany

Last Year's Rank: NR

$18,101,625

14

Ralf Schumacher

Auto Racing
Germany

Last Year's Rank: 15

$18,000,000

15

Andriy Shevchenko

Chelsea (Soccer)
Ukraine

Last Year's Rank: NR

$17,300,000

16

Alfonso Soriano

Chicago Cubs (MLB)
Dominican Republic

Last Year's Rank: NR

$17,250,000

17

Vijay Singh

Pro Golf
Fiji

Last Year's Rank: 11

$16,411,026

18

Alessandro Del Piero

Juventus (Soccer)
Italy

Last Year's Rank: NR

$15,700,000

19

John Terry

Chelsea (Soccer)
Great Britain

Last Year's Rank: NR

$15,500,000

20

Steven Gerrard

Liverpool (Soccer)
Great Britain

Last Year's Rank: NR

$15,400,000