The closure of the Portuguese footballer Cristiano Ronaldo with the Saudi club Al Nassr at the beginning of this year, after having left Real Madrid in November 2022, he left it as the highest paid athlete in the worldaccording to a survey of the magazine Forbes.
The 38-year-old footballer made profits of US$136 million between May 1, 2022 and May 1, 2023. According to the estimates of the specialized business publication, of Ronaldo’s total earnings, US$ 46 million belong to his work as an athlete in itself, while “off the field” -as detailed Forbes— the soccer player also obtained a profit of US$ 90 million.
This figure is due, to a large extent, to the number of followers that the Portuguese has on his different social networks.which reaches a number of 850 million followers.
In second place on the list was the world champion Leonel Messi. Lately, the Argentine’s professional future has generated speculation as to which club he will join: whether he will return to Barcelona or join Ronaldo in the Arabi Saudi team.
Messi, 35, made profits in the last year for US$ 130 million. In his case, he earned a return of $65 million both on and off the pitch.
The footballer who currently wears the Paris Saint-Germain shirt has contracts with important companies such as Adidas or PepsiCoas well as having launched his own investment firm in October of last year called Play Time.
The third place in the ranking of the highest paid athletes in the world is occupied by another elite footballer, although less than the first two priests. With 24 years of age, Kylian Mbappé obtained profits of US$ 120 million in the last 12 months.
The —also— Paris Saint-Germain player obtained a return of US$ 100 million due to his work strictly related to sports, and US$ 20 more for other activities related to marketing.
In fourth place is LeBron James, 38. The American basketball player earned $119.5 million in earnings over the past year. Besides, Forbes It highlights him as an athlete who also has the qualities to perform as an entrepreneur and thus exploit his personal brand.
The top 5 was closed by the Mexican Canelo Álvarez, the 32-year-old boxer who generated earnings of US$ 110 million from May 2022 to the same month this year. The publication also highlights the athlete’s marketing skills.
Gone was the 38-year-old American golfer dustin johnson, after obtaining profits of US$ 107 million. He was followed by his colleague and compatriot Phil Mickelson (52) after reaping a return of US$ 106 million.
The American basketball player Stephen Curry (52) was ranked number eight in the ranking after obtaining US$ 100.4 million.
In ninth place on the list was the Swiss tennis player Roger Federer, who, despite having left the racket, closed several agreements with some companies, such as sports eyewear maker Oliver Peoples. Federer’s earnings were around US$100,000 “on the playing field” and US$95 million from businesses not directly linked to his sporting activity. This left him a return of US$ 95.1 million in the last 12 monthsestimated Forbes.
In the 10th place on the list was the American basketball player Kevin Durant 34 years old after having reaped profits of US$ 89.1 million.
