Cristiano Ronaldo tops Forbes sport rich list after raking in £206MILLION

Cristiano Ronaldo has again been named the world’s highest-paid athlete as he tops Forbes’ rich list.  The 40-year-old Portuguese striker earned an estimated 206.6million ($275m) last year, an increase of 11.2m from 2023. Ronaldo has now topped the list for a third consecutive year and a fifth time during his glittering career. The Portuguese star has reportedly been paid a staggering 177million-a-year salary by his Saudi club Al Nassr since joining  Manchester United in December 2022. He also has other streams of income through various sponorships and boasts an enormous social media following of 939m. The five-time Ballon d’Or winner’s salary has only ever been dwarfed by one athlete, Floyd Mayweather. The former world champion boxer earned an astonishing $300m (then 194m) in 2015 and $275m in 2018 (then 205m). Ronaldo pipped NBA legend Steph Curry, who was ranked second with a 117m ($156m) salary in a season that saw him become the first ever player to hit 4,000 three-pointers. British boxer Tyson Fury came in third on the rich list, with an estimated salary of 109m ($146m) after two fights with Ukraine’s Oleksandr Usyk in Riyadh. Ronaldo’s long-time rival Lionel Messi is ranked at fifth, dropping down from third last year. The Inter Miami forward took home 101.4m ($135m) last year, with an estimated 56.2m ($75m) in off-field earnings. The Argentine is paid handsomely for a sponsorship deal to promote Saudi Arabia as a tourist destination.  While Karim Benzema, who plays for Saudi Champions Al-Ittihad, was named as the eight highest paid athlete, raking in 78.2m ($104m). Basketball stars LeBron James and Kevin Durant make up the rest of list, alongside  Dallas Cowboy’s quarterback Dak Prescott, and baseballer players Juan Soto and Shohei Ohtani.  Meanwhile, Erling Haaland, the Premier League’s highest-earning player, ranks in 34th. The Norwegian took home 46.5m ($62m) last year, including 36m ($48m) from his Manchester City earnings.  TOP 10 HIGHEST-PAID ATHLETES ACCORDING TO FORBES  1. Cristiano Ronaldo – 206.6m ($275m)2. Stephen Curry – 117.1m ($156m)3. Tyson Fury – 109.5m ($146m)4. Dak Prescott 102.8m ($137m)5. Lionel Messi 101.3m ($135m)6. LeBron James 100.4m ($133.8m)7. Juan Soto 85.5m ($114m)8. Karim Benzema 78m ($104m)9. Shohei Ohtani 76.9m ($102.5m) 10. Kevin Durant 76.1m ($101.4m) The post Cristiano Ronaldo tops Forbes sport rich list after raking in 206MILLION appeared first on Linda Ikeji Blog.