Cristiano Ronaldo is the best paid athlete in the world for the first time since 2017. The American business magazine Forbes reports that the Portuguese earns almost 124 million euros a year after his transfer to Al Nassr in Saudi Arabia (including other income).
Ronaldo is the highest paid athlete in the world due to doubling annual salary
Ronaldo’s annual salary at his Saudi employer is reportedly around 68 million euros. That would be double his annual earnings at Manchester United, where the five-time Ballon d’Or winner left in November last year.
Forbes adds salaries and sponsorship income when compiling the ranking of the highest paid athletes in the world. With around 124 million euros in annual income, Ronaldo leaves Lionel Messi behind. The Argentinian can add more than 118 million euros to his account annually.
Paris Saint-Germain teammate Kylian Mbappé is third on the list of the highest paid athletes in the world, reportedly receiving around €109 million a year. At 24, Mbappé is also the youngest athlete in the top ten.
The current top ten, which Ronaldo leads again for the first time in six years, also includes former tennis player Roger Federer, NBA stars LeBron James, Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant, golfers Dustin Johnson and Phil Mickelson and Mexican boxer Canelo Álvarez.
Top 10 paid athletes
| Player | Salary | |
| 1 | Cristiano Ronaldo | 123.64 million |
| 2 | Lionel Messi | 118.19 million |
| 3 | Kylian Mbappe | 109.10 million |
| 4 | LeBron James | 108.64 million |
| 5 | Canelo Alvarez | 100.01 million |
| 6 | Dustin Johnson | 97.28 million |
| 7 | Phil Mickelson | 96.37 million |
| 8 | Stephen Curry | 91.28 million |
| 9 | Roger Federer | 86.46 million |
| 10 | Kevin Durant | 81.01 million |
Messi surpasses Ronaldo and receives the biggest offer of all time
However, contrary to the above, Lionel Messi is making headlines in France. The Argentinian skipped a training session at Paris Saint-Germain and left for Saudi Arabia for a commercial job. According to L’Équipe, there is more to it.
The renowned French sports newspaper already wrote that Messi would be suspended for two weeks by the club, which had banned the playmaker from moving to the Gulf state. Now the medium writes that Messi has taken the plane after all, because Saudi Arabia may be his next destination after this season.
“It is the most logical option to go after this season. The Gulf state is preparing the largest offer ever made to a football player,” L’Équipe knows. Messi could sign a long-term commitment for an insane salary. The superstar is transfer-free after this season and would seriously consider a move to Saudi Arabia.
Al Hilal seems to be the club that wants to sign Messi. The club sees an opportunity to seduce the world champion and hopes to unleash a battle between Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, who is under contract with Al-Nassr for a staggering fee, next season. Ronaldo is currently the highest paid athlete in the world.
Incidentally, the offer means bad news for Barcelona. The Catalans are trying to do everything possible to bring Messi back to Camp Nou. However, the financial possibilities are limited in Barcelona.
