Cristiano Ronaldo once again tops list of highest-paid athletes

The Portuguese superstar is one of the greatest footballers of all time

Cristiano Ronaldo is atop the list of the top 100 sportsmen who made the most money over the previous year (2023).

The Al-Nassr attacker, a former Man United star, is expected to earn the highest salary of any player in the competition thanks to his hefty endorsement deals and his eye-watering £175 million-a-year contract at the Saudi Arabian club.

In addition to his brand, CR7, Ronaldo earned £218 million ($275 million) in sponsorship revenue, of which £47 million came from Nike, Herbalife, Armani, Tag Heuer, DAZN, and PokerStars.

Before moving to Saudi Arabia, Ronaldo was among the highest-paid sportsmen in the world, and his enormous income in the Middle East has kept him at the head of the pack.

For most of his career, the Portuguese attacker has been in a power struggle with Lionel Messi. Although he may not have as many Ballon d’Or victories as the Argentine, he can undoubtedly claim to be wealthier.

Even now playing for Inter Miami in Major League Soccer, the World Cup winner is not even ranked second after Ronaldo. John Rahm, the renegade from LIV Golf, is right there.

Last year, the Spaniard earned £144 million ($181 million). He had won the 2023 Masters before undergoing the unexpected switch to the contentious Saudi-funded breakaway league LIV Golf, for which he is rumoured to have received payment of over £400 million.

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Messi placed third instead, having made £52 million ($65 million), far less than both Ronaldo and Rahm, but more than that much from endorsements.

He and Ronaldo comprised a group of four football players in the top ten, earning a combined total of £100 million over the previous year.

The other two were Messi’s old teammate in Paris, Kylian Mbappe, a standout player for PSG who is expected to sign with Real Madrid this summer, and Neymar.

2023’s HIGHEST-PAID ATHLETES

1. Cristiano Ronaldo (football) – £218m
2. Jon Rahm (golf) – £161m
3. Lionel Messi (football) – £103m
4. LeBron James (NBA) – £99.8m
5. Kylian Mbappe (football) – £99.2m
6. Neymar (football) – £96m
7. Stephen Curry (NBA) – £78.5m
8. Giannis Antetokounmpo (NBA) – £70.2m
9. Kevin Durant (NBA) – £69m
10. Patrick Mahomes (NFL) – £66.9m
11. Lamar Jackson (NFL) – £65.5m
12. Karim Benzema (football) – £61m
13. Rory McIlroy (golf) – £61m
14. Tiger Woods (golf) -£61m
15. Max Verstappen (F1) – £59.5m
16. Shohei Ohtani (baseball) – £55.6m
17. Canelo Alvarez (boxing) – £52.4m
18. Erling Haaland (football) – £50m
19. Lewis Hamilton (F1) – £49.2m
20. Max Scherzer (baseball) – £48.2m
21. Damian Lillard (basketball) – £47.8m
22. Klay Thompson (basketball) – £47.7m
23. Mohamed Salah (football) – £44.4m
24. Anthony Joshua (boxing) – £43.6m
25. Russell Westbrook (basketball) – £42.8m
26. Nick Bosa (NFL) – £42.5m
27. Viktor Hovland (golf) – £41.5m
28. Scottie Scheffler (golf) – £41.5m
29. James Harden (basketball) – £40.9m
30. Joe Burrow (NFL) – £40.9m
31. Paul George (basketball) – £40.5m
32. Bradley Beal (basketball) – £40.1m
33. Kawhi Leonard (basketball) – £39.7m
34. Luka Doncic (basketball) – £39.4m
35. Jimmy Butler (basketball) – £38m
36. Daniel Jones (NFL) – £37.7m
37. Jake Paul (boxing) – £37.3m
38. Joel Embiid (basketball) – £37.1m
39. Brooks Koepka (golf) – £37m
40. Deshaun Watson (NFL) – £36.9m
41. Devin Booker (basketball) – £36.7m
42. Aaron Rodgers (NFL) – £36.4m
43. Nikola Jokic (basketball) – £36.3m
44. Anthony Davis (basketball) – £36.1m
45. Dak Prescott (NFL) – £35.7m
46. Novak Djokovic (tennis) – £35.6m
47. Trae Young (basketball) – £35.5m
48. Justin Verlander (baseball) – £35.3m
49. Aaron Judge (baseball) – £34.9m
50. Zach LaVine (basketball) – £34.7m
51. Cameron Smith (golf) – £34.3m
52. Kyrie Irving (basketball) – £34.3m
53. Jordan Spieth (golf) – £34m
54. Gervonta Davis (boxing) – £33.7m
55. Kyler Murray (NFL) – £33.7m
56. Carlos Alcaraz (tennis) – £33.5m
57. Jamal Murray (basketball) – £32.5m
58. Ryan Garcia (boxing) – £32.1m
59. Mike Trout (baseball) – £32.1m
60. Donovan Mitchell (basketball) – £32m
61. Rudy Gobert (basketball) – £31.9m
62. Talor Gooch (golf) – £31.9m
63. Jayson Tatum (basketball) – £31.8m
64. Tyson Fury (boxing) – £31.7m
65. Rashan Gary (NFL) – £31.6m
66. Tobias Harris (basketball) – £31.2m
67. Chris Paul (basketball) – £30.5m
68. Ben Simmons (basketball) – £30.4m
69. Anthony Rendon (baseball) – £30.4m
70. Pascal Siakam (basketball) – £30.1m
71. Russell Wilson (NFL) – £30.1m
72. Sadio Mane (football) – £30.1m
73. CJ McCollum (basketball) – £30.1m
74. Jrue Holiday (basketball) – £30m
75. Zion Williamson (basketball) – £29.8m
76. Gerrit Cole (baseball) – £27.7m
77. Corey Seager (baseball) – £29.7m
78. Karl-Anthony Towns (basketball) – £29.5m
79. Carlos Correa (baseball) – £29.3m
80. Josh Allen (NFL) – £29.3m
81. Kristaps Porzingis (basketball) – £29.1m
82. Brandon Ingram (basketball) – £28.6m
83. Riyad Mahrez (football) – £28.5m
84. Robert Lewandowski (football) – £28.5m
85. Chris Lindstrom (NFL) – £28.4m
86. Dustin Johnson (golf) – £28.3m
87. Khris Middleton (basketball) – £28m
88. Kevin de Bruyne (football) – £27.8m
89. Michael Porter Jr. (basketball) – £26.9m
90. Orlando Brown Jr (NFL) – £26.8m
91. Gordon Hayward (basketball) – £26.7m
92. Stephen Strasburg (baseball) – £26.6m
93. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (basketball) – £26.6m
94. Bryce Harper (baseball) – £26.3m
95. Kirk Cousins (NFL) – £26.2m
96. De’Aaron Fox (basketball) – £26.1m
97. Miguel Cabrera (baseball) – £26m
98. Bam Adebayo (basketball) – £25.9m
99. Giancarlo Stanton (baseball) – £25.8m
100. Derek Carr (NFL) – £25.8m

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