Picture Credit: X
Al-Nassr captain Cristiano Ronaldo beat Argentina captain Lionel Messi to become the highest-paid athlete in the world in 2023. Ronaldo moved to Al-Nassr in January 2023, after the termination of his contract at Manchester United. The five-time Ballon d’Or winner signed a lucrative $221 million per year deal for two years with the Saudi Pro League side that put him on the top of the list of highest-paid athletes, published by Sportico.
The Portuguese international earned somewhere around $ 71 million more than the golf star John Rahm, who is placed second on the list with $203 million. Lionel Messi, who left Paris Saint-Germain to join Inter Miami last year was ranked third on the list. The 2022 FIFA World Cup-winning captain earned $130 million in the year 2023. Messi is ahead of the NBA icon LeBron James with $126 million.
Following James is the PSG forward Kylian Mbappe with $125 million, who was followed by Brazil attacker Neymar with $121 million. The Golden State Warrior star Stephen Curry was ranked after the Al-Hilal player, and following them were G. Antetokounmpo and Kevin Durant. Former soccer player and the owner of Kansas City's Current NWSL team Patrick Mahomes wrapped up the list.
Talking about table topper Ronaldo, apart from earning a whopping sum with his Al-Nassr stint, Ronaldo earned somewhere around $60 million in 2023 from sponsorships, as mentioned by Goal. Not only this, but Ronaldo also earns a huge sum of money with his Instagram page, which boasts 621 million followers.
