One Direction are 2016's biggest earners

A list of Europe's best-paid stars of 2016 has been topped by One Direction - even though the band was on a break for vast majority of the year. They earned a combined total of £89.9 million - way ahead of Christiano Ronaldo, who took second place.

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Forbes estimated the band's earnings based on their endorsement deals, and the latter part of their On The Road Again tour. It also gives them the title of the highest-earning band in the world this year - and the second placed musicians - after Taylor Swift.

It's also not far off what the band made in 2015 when they performed 74 gigs - and pulled in £101.6 million.

One Direction's Harry Styles was the youngest person on the list - at the age of 22. The oldest, meanwhile, was Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts - who is 75.

The band easily beat Christian Ronaldo into second place in the European list - although he still earned an impressive £72 million. Third place went to Adele who raked in £65.8 million. Shockingly, she was the only woman on the list. Forbes also noted that she is one of the few artists who still make a significant sum from selling music.

Musicians performed well in the top 10 - largely from tours. The Rolling Stones took 5th place (£54.3m), while Calvin Harris was Europe's highest earning DJ in 6th place (£51.5m). Sir Paul McCartney took 7th place through performing and publishing rights (£46.1m). He was also the second-oldest on the list at 74. Finally, U2 were in 9th place, after putting in yet another money-spinning tour (£45m).

Sports stars made an impressive showing too. Roger Federer was in 4th place (£55.2m) thanks largely to his endorsements - after having to sit out part of the year with a back injury. Meanwhile Novak Djokovic took 8th place (£45.5m), as the Serb padded out his winnings with lucrative endorsements.

There was also one chef on the list: Gordon Ramsay, who was named in tenth place. He made £44m from his restaurants and US TV shows.

The top 10
1. One Direction
2. Christiano Ronaldo
3. Adele
4. Roger Federer
5. The Rolling Stones
6. Calvin Harris
7. Sir Paul McCartney
8. Novak Djokovic
9. U2
10. Gordon Ramsay

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