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Ronaldo knocks Lionel Messi off the top spot in Forbes’ list of highest-paid athletes after Al-Nassr transfer.
Cristiano Ronaldo has been listed as Forbes’ highest-paid athlete with £109 million (£136m) in 2022, surpassing Lionel Messi by one spot.
The Portuguese forward was forced to leave Manchester United at the beginning of the year after making divisive remarks about the team.
Ronaldo hasn’t really suffered despite a substantial decline in quality from his Champions League days.
According to Forbes, the 38-year-old made £109 million in “prize money, salaries and bonuses” last year in addition to “sponsorship deals, appearance fees and memorabilia” earned off the field.
This places him just ahead of Paris Saint-Germain star Lionel Messi at £104m ($130m), while Kylian Mbappe makes up a hat-trick of footballers in the top three, with his earnings worth £96m ($120m).
Ronaldo returns to the top rank for the first time since 2017 because of the outrageous numbers recorded for him, which are the most in football history. Strangely, Messi may soon join the Al-Nassr skipper in Saudi Arabia.
His contract with his current employer PSG will not be extended past this summer, and a recent trip to the Gulf state has stoked speculation about a potential reconciliation between the longtime foes, with Al-Hilal having already made a sizable offer.
That might knock Cristiano Ronaldo back down to first place, but the most likely outcome for the Argentine is a return to Barcelona, even though that would mean a significant pay cut. LeBron James, a legendary basketball player, and boxer Canelo Alvarez round out the top five, both behind Mbappe after the 24-year-old signed an absurdly lucrative new contract last summer.
TOP TEN LIST IN FULL:
| 1 | Cristiano Ronaldo | £109m |
| 2 | Lionel Messi | £104m |
| 3 | Kylian Mbappe | £96m |
| 4 | LeBron James | £95m |
| 5 | Canelo Alvarez | £88m |
| 6 | Dustin Johnson | £86m |
| 7 | Phil Mickelson | £85m |
| 8 | Stephen Curry | £81m |
| 9 | Roger Federer | £76m |
| 10 | Kevin Durant | £72m |
While speculation about their futures continues, Messi will serve out his two-week suspension at PSG while Ronaldo gets ready for his Monday meeting with Al-Khaleej.