Cristiano Ronaldo named the world’s highest-paid athlete after raking in £109MILLION this yearSuperstar footballer, Cristiano Ronaldo has been named the world’s highest-paid athlete in Forbes’ annual rich list after ranking an incredible £109million over the past year.
The 38-year-old hit the jackpot when he put pen to paper on a staggering £175million-a-year contract with Saudi Arabian side Al-Nassr in January.
That lucrative switch has propelled him back to the top of Forbes’ athlete rich list for the first time since 2017 and the third time overall, with an overall income of $136million (£109million) the highest figure from a footballer in history.
An estimated $46million (£37million) of that income has come on the field, which Forbes says ‘blends together his two contracts for this season and accounts for his brief unemployment’ while close to double the amount has come through off-field endorsements.
Only three athletes in Forbes’ history have beaten his off-field total of $90million (£72million) in a year: Roger Federer, Tiger Woods, and Conor McGregor.
THE WORLD’S 10 HIGHEST-PAID ATHLETES (FORBES)
-
Cristiano Ronaldo – $136million (£109million)
-
Lionel Messi – $130million (£104million)
-
Kylian Mbappe – $120million (£96million)
-
LeBron James – $119.5million (£95million)
-
Canelo Alvarez – $110million (£88million)
-
Dustin Johnson – $107million (£86million)
-
Phil Mickelson – $106million (£85million)
-
Stephen Curry – $100.4million (£81million)
-
Roger Federer – $95.1million (£76million)
-
Kevin Durant – $89.1million (£72million)