Thanks to his lucrative contract with the Saudi team Al Nassr, Cristiano Ronaldo is the highest paid athlete in the world in 2023, with an estimated income of $136 millionsurpassing Lionel Messi ($130 million)according to the annual ranking of Forbes magazine.
A third soccer star, the French Kylian Mbappe ($120 million)completes the podium of the athletes with the highest income in the last 12 months, according to the list published yesterday.
(The ‘Colombian’ who comes to one of the most powerful teams in the NFL).
Behind them stands the American basketball player LeBron James ($119.5)NBA Lakers superstar, and Mexican boxer Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez ($110).
At 38 years old, and away from the big European leagues, Cristiano Ronaldo returns to the first place in the ranking that he already held in 2016 and 2017. This return is a direct consequence of his departure from Manchester United for Saudi Arabia in January.
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According to Forbes, the combination of his two contracts will bring him US$46 million this season, to which are added other US$90 million in sponsorships in the last 12 months.
Committed to Al-Nassr until 2025, the Portuguese striker will receive an annual salary of US$75 million in addition to “additional marketing opportunities” in this country, the publication noted.
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For his part, Messi, who also signed a sponsorship as Saudi Arabia’s tourism ambassador, was unseated from first place on the list despite the US$65 million that he receives for his sports activity and another US$65 million from commercial agreements.
The Argentinian star has just received a suspension of several days for the Paris Saint-Germaina club owned by the emirate of Qatar, after a trip to Riyadh without authorization from the French team.
(‘Without savings, pension systems are unfeasible’).
The two soccer superstars aren’t the only ones to symbolize Saudi Arabia’s heavy investment in the sport, as American golfers Dustin Johnson ($107 million) and Phil Mickelson ($106) They rank sixth and seventh on the list after leaving the PGA in 2022 for the new LIV Golf circuit, financed by Riyadh.
‘Canelo’ Álvarez, with an income of $100 million for his in-ring appearances and another $10 million for business activitiesis the second Latin American in the first 10 positions of the ranking.
(‘Another remedy is needed to combat smuggling.’)
The income of the Mexican does not include those of the next fight against the British John Ryder on May 6 in Guadalajara (Jalisco), since Forbes closed its annual list on May 1. The top-10 is completed by basketball players Stephen Curry ($100.4 million) and Kevin Durant ($89.1)eighth and tenth, and the Swiss tennis player Roger Federer ($95.1)ninth, who retired from the courts at the end of last year.
AFP
