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Cristiano Ronaldo has leapfrogged Lionel Messi to become the highest paid athlete in the world after his December 2022 move to Saudi Arabian club Al Nassr, according to Forbes.
Ronaldo earned £109m last year in “prize money, salaries and bonuses”, as well as off-field “sponsorship deals, appearances fees and memorabilia” which helped him grab the number one spot, said the Forbes list. Messi, meanwhile, has pocketed £104m ($130m) while playing for Paris Saint Germain.
Basketball star LeBron James is in the fourth position, with a revenue of $119.5 million and Mexican boxer Canelo Álvarez is fifth with an income of $110 million.
Ronaldo, a five-time Ballon d’Or winner who starred for Real Madrid, Juventus and Manchester United, signed a deal to June 2025 with Al Nassr, apparently after rejecting offers from Europe, North America and beyond.
Media reports have claimed the Portugal star could be earning up to $200 million a year from the deal, which makes him the highest-paid soccer player in history.
Meanwhile, Lionel Messi was recently suspended by PSG for two weeks without pay for his recent trip to Saudi Arabia which came without the club’s authorisation.
A few days ago, Messi had shared a sponsored image from Saudi Arabia as he expressed his love of the country’s landscape.
The Instagram post came a day after, Barcelona coach Xavi confirmed on Saturday that the Catalan club had been in talks with LaLiga over the possibility of bringing back Messi, who had spent his entire career at Camp Nou before his shock departure in 2021.
