With an estimated income of 246 million euros, Cristiano Ronaldo tops the list of the world’s highest-paid athletes for the third consecutive year, as revealed this Friday by the American magazine Forbes.
Al Nassr’s forward, Cristiano Ronaldo, is number one on the Forbes list of the world’s highest-paid athletes for the third consecutive year. The 40-year-old player earned approximately 206.6 million pounds sterling in 2024, which is 11.2 million pounds sterling more than in 2023.
It is estimated that Ronaldo earns an annual salary of 177 million pounds sterling at the Saudi club, which he joined from Manchester United in December 2022.
He surpasses NBA player Steph Curry and British boxer Tyson Fury. Long-time rival of CR7, Lionel Messi has dropped two places and falls to fifth in the ranking. Earning less since his departure from PSG to Real Madrid, Kylian Mbappé is out of the top 10.
The ranking of the highest-paid athletes in the world in 2025
| Athlete | Sport | Earnings (millions of euros) |
|---|---|---|
| Cristiano Ronaldo | Football | 246 |
| Stephen Curry | Basketball | 139 |
| Tyson Fury | Boxing | 130 |
| Dak Prescott | American Football | 122 |
| Lionel Messi | Football | 121 |
| LeBron James | Basketball | 120 |
| Juan Soto | Baseball | 102 |
| Karim Benzema | Football | 93 |
| Shohei Ohtani | Baseball | 92 |
| Kevin Durant | Basketball | 90 |
| Kylian Mbappé | Football | 80 |