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Nieuws
- 2 hours ago
Ronaldo, Messi and the 50 highest-paid athletes in the world in 2025
Martin Macdonald
- 15 Jan 2026 06:10 CST
- 4 min read
Nieuws
Cristiano Ronaldo was the highest-paid athlete from any sport in 2025.
The Portuguese superstar is one of the most iconic footballers in history and has played for elite clubs like Manchester United, Real Madrid and Juventus.
He's currently in the twilight of his career, plying his trade in the Saudi Pro League with Al-Nassr and it is those Saudi millions that puts him well ahead of any other sportsperson when it comes it earnings.
From Al-Nassr alone, he made $200 million in 2025 and his income was boosted by another $60 million by outside endorsements and sponsorship - as well as hundreds of millions of followers on social media, according to Sportico.
Ronaldo's perennial rival Lionel Messi is third on the list with income of $130m - half of what CR7 earned. Part of the Argentine's equity in Inter Miami, which is spread across his original two-and-a-half year contract, is included in his salary.
In between the two football stars is boxer Canelo Alvarez who earned $137m from prize money and endorsements.
Top 20 highest-paid athletes in the world in 2025
| Athlete | Sport | Earnings |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Cristiano Ronaldo | Football | $260m |
| 2. Canelo Alvarez | Boxing | $137m |
| 3. Lionel Messi | Football | $130m |
| 4. Juan Soto | Baseball | $129.2m |
| 5. LeBron James | Basketball | $128.7m |
| 6. Karim Benzema | Football | $115m |
| 7. Steph Curry | Basketball | $105.4m |
| 8. Shohei Ohtani | Baseball | $102.5m |
| 9. Kevin Durant | Basketball | $100.8m |
| 10. John Rahm | Golf | $100.7m |
| 11. Lewis Hamilton | F1 | $100m |
| 12. Kylian Mbappe | Football | $95m |
| 13. Giannis Antetokounmpo | Basketball | $94.3m |
| 14. Rory McIlroy | Golf | $91.2m |
| 15. Max Verstappen | F1 | $83m |
| 16. Scottie Scheffler | Golf | $82.9m |
| 17. Patrick Mahomes | NFL | $80.3m |
| 18. Erling Haaland | Football | $77.9m |
| 19. Josh Allen | NFL | $73.2m |
| 20. Justin Herbert | NFL | $71.1m |
The rest of the top 10 is made up by Juan Soto (baseball), LeBron James (basketball), Karim Benzema (football), Steph Curry (basketball), Shohei Ohtani (baseball), Kevin Durant (basketball) and Jon Rahm (golf).
The footballers in the top 100 are Ronaldo, Messi, Benzema, Kylian Mbappe, Erling Haaland, Neymar, Vinicius Junior, Mohamed Salah, Riyad Mahrez, Sadio Mane, Harry Kane, Jude Bellingham and Robert Lewandowski.
Five of these players currently play, or at one point in 2025, played in the Saudi Pro League.
Cristiano Ronaldo was named the highest-paid athlete in the world for 2025! 💰💰💰 pic.twitter.com/vLLAzyJkXA
— Football Transfers (@Transfersdotcom) January 15, 2026
The highest-paid athletes in the world in 2025 (21-50)
| Athlete | Sport | Earnings |
| 21. Blake Snell | Baseball | $66m |
| 22. Terence Crawford | Boxing | $66m |
| 23. Bryson DeChambeau | Golf | $62.7m |
| 24. Anthony Edwards | Basketball | $62.2m |
| 25. Naoya Inoue | Boxing | $62m |
| 26. Joel Embiid | Basketball | $61m |
| 27. Jayson Tatum | Basketball | $60.4m |
| 28. Jimmy Butler | Basketball | $60.3m |
| 29. Nikola Jokic | Basketball | $60.2m |
| 30. Jake Paul | Boxing | $60m |
| 31. Neymar | Football | $60m |
| 32. Devin Booker | Basketball | $59m |
| 33. Lando Norris | F1 | $59m |
| 34. Vinicius Junior | Football | $58m |
| 35. Dak Prescott | NFL | $57.8m |
| 36. Carlos Alcaraz | Tennis | $57.8m |
| 37. Luka Doncic | Basketball | $57.7m |
| 38. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander | Basketball | $56.5m |
| 39. Damian Lillard | Basketball | $56.4m |
| 40. Karl-Anthony Towns | Basketball | $54.7m |
| 41. Tiger Woods | Golf | $54.4m |
| 42. Kawhi Leonard | NFL | $54.1m |
| 43. Tua Tagovailoa | NFL | $54m |
| 44. Mohamed Salah | Football | $54m |
| 45. Riyad Mahrez | Football | $53.5m |
| 46. Tyrese Haliburton | Basketball | $53.4m |
| 47. Paul George | Basketball | $53.3m |
| 48. James Harden | Basketball | $50.9m |
| 49. Jaylen Brown | Basketball | $50.7m |
| 50. Brock Purdy | NFL | $50.1m |
Salary, bonuses and endorsements are included in earnings, but investments have not been included, nor have deferred payments to come later in a contract.
For the entire list, check out Sportico.
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