
5-time Ballon d’Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo has led the way in which once more in Forbes’ record of the highest 10 highest paid athletes of the yr.
The 2025 line-up additionally options British former world heavyweight champion Tyson Fury and eight-time Ballon d’Or winner Lionel Messi.
Karim Benzema, who’s second solely to Ronaldo in Actual Madrid’s all-time high scorer record, is among the many high 10, as is NBA celebrity Steph Curry.
101GreatGoals.com takes a take a look at the best paid athletes of 2025, together with how a lot Ronaldo raked in and his reported wage.
Who’s the best paid athlete on the earth?
Portugal captain Ronaldo was the best incomes athlete of the yr for the third time in a row and the fifth total, in accordance with the monetary oracular.
The 40-year-old earned $225 million (greater than £169m) on the pitch for Saudi Professional League facet Al-Nassr in the course of the yr and is claimed to have obtained $50m (nearly £38m) by way of pursuits off the pitch, together with investments in wearable tech firm Whoop, porcelain producer Vista Alegre and complement model Bioniq.
The previous Juventus, Manchester United and Sporting striker created a YouTube channel in August that already has greater than 75 million subscribers.
He stays the most well-liked determine on the earth on social media platforms Instagram, Fb and X, amassing greater than 939 million followers in whole.
On the all-time record, solely boxer Floyd Mayweather eclipses Ronaldo, having earned an estimated $300m (£226m) in 2015 and $285m (£214.5m) in 2018.
Ronaldo’s two fellow footballers within the high 10 are led by the person who’s regarded by many as his arch-rival for the title of the best fashionable footballer of all time.
Inter Miami’s Messi is claimed to have earned $60m (£45m) on the pitch and $75m (£56.5m) off it, placing the Argentina skipper fifth total.
Former France ahead Benzema, who performs for Saudi leaders Al-Ittihad, is eighth, with $100m (£75m) accounted for on the pitch and $4m (£3m) off it.
Prime 10 highest paid athletes 2025
Listed below are Forbes’ high 10 earners for 2025.
- Ronaldo (soccer) – $275m (£206.8m)
- Steph Curry (basketball) – $156m (£117.3m)
- Tyson Fury (boxing) – $146m (£109.8m)
- Dak Prescott (American soccer) – $137m (£103m)
- Lionel Messi (soccer) – $135m (£101.5m)
- LeBron James (basketball) – $133.8m (£100.6m)
- Juan Soto (baseball) – $114m (£85.7m)
- Karim Benzema (soccer) – $104m (£78.2m)
- Shohei Ohtani (baseball) – $102.5m (£77.1m)
- Kevin Durant (basketball) – $101.4m (£76.3m)
Ronaldo weekly wage
Ronaldo was stated to have surpassed $1 billion (£771m) in profession earnings two years earlier than changing into essentially the most high-profile footballer to maneuver to Saudi Arabia in December 2022 following his departure from United.
His deal, which runs till the tip of the 2024/25 season, is broadly reported to be price £14.75m a month or £3.4m per week.
How a lot does Ronaldo make a yr?
Ronaldo’s annual wage is claimed to be £177m per yr, made up of £62m for his soccer wage, supplemented by business bonuses.
The participant generally known as CR7 has quite a lot of profitable sponsorship offers, together with his latest endorsements together with Whoop, online game UFL and cryptocurrency trade Binance.
Footballer wage record: Mbappe, Neymar, Vinicius, Haaland, Mane
Actual Madrid and France talisman Kylian Mbappe leads the record of 5 footballers named on Forbes’ 49-strong list exterior the highest 10, on $90m (£68m).
Santos and Brazil’s Neymar is twenty fifth ($76m/£57m) with Manchester Metropolis and Norway’s Erling Haaland thirty fourth ($62m/£47m).
Madrid and the Selecao’s Vinicius Junior is one behind golf icon Tiger Woods in forty sixth ($55m/£41m), whereas Al-Nassr and Senegal ahead Sadio Mane is forty eighth ($54m/£41m).