Ronaldo Tops List of World’s Highest-Paid Athletes Following Saudi Transfer

After Saudi moves PSG ahead, Ronaldo becomes the highest-paid athlete in the world. Next on the Forbes list was Lionel Messi, followed by club teammate and France captain Kylian Mbappe, who came in third.

The move to Saudi Arabian club Al Nassr nearly doubled Cristiano Ronaldo’s annual playing salary, making him the highest-paid athlete in the world for the first time since 2017. Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) teammates Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe round out the top three, according to Forbes magazine.

Ronaldo made $136 million after leaving Manchester United last year; according to Forbes, his annual playing wage increased to an estimated $75 million. He signed a contract with the Saudi football club through 2025.

The media has projected that Ronaldo’s contract is worth more than 200 million euros ($220 million).

Following Messi, a 35-year-old striker for PSG, who earned a total of $130 million, came Mbappe, the youngest player on the list at 24 years old, who earned $120 million to finish third. Both players were club teammates.

Qatar Sports Investments owns PSG.

The NBA legend and Los Angeles Lakers basketball star LeBron James ($119.5 million) and Mexican boxer Canelo Alvarez ($110 million) completed the top five.

LIV Golf, a breakaway tour that has attracted some of the top players from the American PGA Tour with substantial sums of money, debuted last year as well. Two of its golfers place in the top 10.

After making the contentious conversion to LIV Golf, former world number one Dustin Johnson (sixth with $107 million), who could not even make the top 50 in 2022, saw the highest increase. In seventh place with $106 million, fellow LIV golfer Phil Mickelson joined him on the Forbes list.

The other two basketball players on the list are Kevin Durant of the Phoenix Suns ($89.1 million) and four-time NBA champion Stephen Curry ($100.4 million).

The lone retired player in the top 10 is former tennis great Roger Federer ($95.1 million).

According to Forbes, their numbers for on-field earnings include all prizes, salaries, and bonuses earned in the previous 12 months, while off-field earnings are an estimate of sponsorship agreements, appearance fees, licensing income, and cash returns from businesses that players own.