According to Forbes, Cristiano Ronaldo (38) surpassed Lionel Messi (35) and Kylian Mbappe (24) to claim the title of highest-paid athlete in the world after joining Saudi Arabian club Al-Nassr and virtually doubling his annual playing wage.
Ronaldo, who left Manchester United last year and signed a contract with the Saudi club through 2025, received $136 million; according to Forbes, his annual playing wage increased to an estimated $75 million.
Citing media estimates, Ronaldo’s contract is worth more over 200 million euros ($219.98m).
Messi, a forward for PSG, placed second on the list after earning a total of $130 million, followed by Mbappe, the youngest player on the list at 24 years old, who earned $120 million and finished third.
The top five was completed by Mexican boxer Canelo Alvarez (32) and NBA legend and Los Angeles Lakers player LeBron James (38, $119.5m).
LIV Golf, a breakaway tour that has attracted some of the top players from the American PGA Tour by offering them enormous sums of money, was established last year as well. Two of its golfers place in the top 10.
Despite not even making the top 50 in 2022, former world number one Dustin Johnson (38, sixth with $107 million), who was joined by fellow LIV golfer Phil Mickelson (52, seventh with $106 million), saw the biggest increase after controversially switching to LIV Golf.
The other two basketball players on the list are Kevin Durant of the Phoenix Suns (34, $89.1m) and four-time NBA champion Stephen Curry (35, $100.4m).
Only one retired athlete appears in the top 10, and that is former tennis great Roger Federer (41, $95.1m).
