Ronaldo, the highest paid

Cristiano Ronaldo is the highest-paid athlete in the world in 2023 according to the list of Forbes magazine, on which Leo Messi and Kylian Mbappé are in second and third place, respectively.

The Portuguese leads this ranking – which analyzes the global business of sports stars from May 1, 2022 to May 1, 2023 – with revenues of $136 million thanks, in large part, to the $75 million he collects from the year as a salary at Al Nassr of Saudi Arabia .

Ronaldo earned 90 million from his sponsors and other off-field work, while he received 46 million for his performance on the pitch (Forbes took into account what he earned at Manchester United and Al Nassr in addition to the time he spent out of gear for his calculation ).

Cristiano thus usurped Forbes’ number one spot from Messi, who was the highest paid athlete in 2022 with 130 million, and who, with the same amount, is in second place in 2023 (65 million on the field and another 65 off it).

Mbappé, Argentina’s teammate at Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), completes the podium with $120 million, of which “only” $20 million came from his off-field activities.

For his part, LeBron James, who became the top scorer in NBA history this year, ranks fourth with $119.5 million, while Mexican boxer Saúl ‘Canelo’ Álvarez is in fifth place with $110 million.

American golfers Dustin Johnson ($107 million) and Phil Mickelson ($106 million) are ranked sixth and seventh respectively after leaving the PGA Tour to join the controversial Saudi LIV Golf.

Stephen Curry ($100.4 million), Roger Federer ($95.1 million, almost entirely thanks to jobs outside of tennis) and Kevin Durant ($89.1 million) closed the ‘top ten’ of the world’s highest-paid athletes. .