Ronaldo tops Forbes’ highest-paid athlete list at $136 million

Despite their age, Messi–Ronaldo, the dual sporting rivalry in football propelled by the media and fans around the globe.Portuguese football stars Cristiano Ronaldo and Argentine Lionel Messi continued the fierce rival, which began many years ago, during which the two players grabbed the spotlight with their performance and numbers at various levels. However, their move to play outside the Spanish League - which has always witnessed their rivalry for many years - however, the competition remained between Ronaldo and Messi in the "highest return" race. “Forbes” magazine revealed Ronaldo’s annual classification with the highest financial returns during the past 12 months, specifically from the beginning of May 2022 until the first of this May. Ronaldo took the lead with a financial income of $136 million (about 123 million euros), benefiting from his move in the middle of the current season to the Saudi victory after a season and a half in the ranks of Manchester United. Ronaldo has become the highest paid athlete in the world, with a move to Al-Nassr nearly doubling his salary, according to Forbes. Ronaldo joined the Saudi Arabian club in January after leaving Manchester United last year and, despite rumors suggesting he’s already looking to move on, the five-time Champions League winner has reaped the financial benefits of his decision. According to Forbes, Ronaldo has an estimated $75 million playing salary and has cashed in on a number of marketing opportunities. Forbes estimates the 38-year-old has earned $136 million from both on-field and off-field revenue in the past year, a total boosted by his move to the Middle East. Ronaldo tops the athlete rich list for the first time since 2017 and sits just ahead of fierce rival Lionel Messi in second. According to Forbes, the Argentine earned $130 million last year with his Paris-Saint Germain teammate Kylian Mbappé just behind on $120 million. Messi, who celebrates his 36th birthday next month, came second in the list with revenues amounting to $130 million (about 118 million euros), including $65 million from his salary in French Paris Saint-Germain and the same from his commercial contracts for advertising with more than one company and organization in the fields of different. French star & PSG striker Kylian Mbappe came in third place with revenues amounting to $120 million (about 109 million euros), including $100 million from the player’s salary in Paris Saint-Germain, after he renewed his contract with the team in the summer of 2022, and the remaining 20 million come from commercial contracts to be Mbappe. He is the highest paid player in the world in terms of salaries and bonuses than football alone. While football stars dominated the first three places in the "Forbes" list, the American professional basketball star LeBron James came in fourth place, a little behind Mbappe, with his revenues in the same year amounting to 119.5 million dollars (about 108 million euros), of which 44.5 million were from the salary. And 75 million sponsorship contracts. Next on the list are Mexican boxer Saul Canelo Alvarez ($110 million), golfers Dustin Johnson ($107 million), Phil Michaelson ($106 million), basketball player Stephen Curry ($100.4 million), and Swiss tennis star Roger Federer ($95.1 million) despite his retirement, and basketball player Kevin Durant ($89.1 million).