- Cristiano Ronaldo topped Forbes’ athlete rich list for the third year in a row
- The Portugual and Al Nassr forward earned an estimated £206.6million last year
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Cristiano Ronaldo has been named the world’s highest-paid athlete yet again as he tops Forbes’ rich list.
The 40-year-old striker earned an estimated £206.6million ($275m) last year – £11.2m more than in 2023.
Ronaldo has now topped the list for a third consecutive year and a fifth time during his glittering career.
The Portuguese star has reportedly been paid a staggering £177million-a-year salary by his Saudi club Al-Nassr since joining from Manchester United in December 2022.
He also has other streams of income through various sponsorships and boasts an enormous social media following of 939m.
The five-time Ballon d’Or winner’s salary has only ever been dwarfed by one athlete, Floyd Mayweather.
Cristiano Ronaldo has been named the world’s highest-paid athlete again topping Forbes’ list
The 40-year-old Portugal and Al Nassr striker earned an estimated £206.6million last year
Ronaldo’s long time rival Lionel Messi dropped to fifth, with the Argentine earning £101.4m
The former world champion boxer earned an astonishing $300m (then £194m) in 2015 and $275m in 2018 (then £205m).
Ronaldo pipped NBA legend Steph Curry, who was ranked second with a £117m ($156m) salary in a season which saw him become the first ever player to hit 4,000 three pointers.
British boxer Tyson Fury came in third on the rich list, with an estimated salary of £109m ($146m) after two fights with Ukraine’s Oleksandr Usyk in Riyadh.
The 36-year-old retired for a fifth time after losing his heavyweight title to Usyk via unanimous decision in December, but has been urged to return to the ring.
Uysk himself just missed out on the top 10. The 38-year-old was placed in 11th after earning £75.8m ($101m).
Ronaldo’s long time rival Lionel Messi is ranked at fifth, dropping down from third last year.
The Inter Miami forward took home £101.4m ($135m) last year, with an estimated £56.2m ($75m) in off-field earnings.
The Argentine is paid handsomely for a sponsorship deal to promote Saudi Arabia as a tourist destination.
British boxer Tyson Fury came in third on the rich list, with an estimated salary of £109m
One rung below Ronaldo’s titanic wealth is that of NBA superstar Steph Curry, with the Golden State Warriors talisman the highest-paid US athlete
Curry’s league rival LeBron James is the second-highest earning basketball player in the US
Karim Benzema, who plays for Saudi side Al-Ittihad, was named as the eight best-paid athlete
While Premier League wages are astronomical to most, the top flight’s highest-paid player, Erling Haaland, is ranked a lowly 34th globally
While Karim Benzema, who plays for Saudi Champions Al-Ittihad, was named as the eight highest paid athlete, raking in £78.2m ($104m).
Basketball stars LeBron James and Kevin Durant make up the rest of list, alongside Dallas Cowboy’s quarterback Dak Prescott, and baseballer players Juan Soto and Shohei Ohtani.
Meanwhile, Erling Haaland, the Premier League’s highest earning player ranks in 34th.
The Norwegian took home £46.5m ($62m) last year, including £36m ($48m) from his Manchester City earnings.
