At the end of 2022, Cristiano Ronaldo left Manchester United after disagreements with the team's manager, Erik ten Hag, and the board. Days later we learned that the Portuguese player, five-time Golden Foot winner, signed the biggest sports contract in history with Saudi Arabia's Al Nasr. This agreement makes him this year's highest-paid athlete.
Forbes has released the list of the 10 Highest Paid Athletes of 2023. The sum of earnings of the ten is $1.1 billion net. Thanks to his contract with Al Nasr and the profits he earns from advertising and business, Cristiano Ronaldo is in first place. In total, the 38-year-old Portuguese footballer will pocket $136 million net: $46 million in sporting and $90 million in non-sporting. In this way, he overtakes Lionel Messi at the top of the ranking.
The Argentine footballer drops to second place. Leo Messi, who finishes his contract with Paris Saint-Germain on June 30, will earn $130 million net this season. The French team will pay him $65 million, to which the 2022 World Cup champion will add another $65 million in sponsorship, advertising and business fees.
In third place is Kylian Mbappé. Paris Saint-Germain's French soccer player will pocket $120 million net this season. His club, one of the richest in the world and owned by Qatar Investment Authority, will pay him $100 million. On the non-sporting side, Mbappé will receive $20 million.
LeBron James and Canelo Alvarez
LeBron James is the first non-soccer player to appear in the Forbes ranking. The Los Angeles Lakers basketball player, a contender for this year's NBA championship, will earn $119.5 million net. His source of income is higher off the court ($75 million) than on ($44.5 million).
Saúl Canelo Álvarez is in fifth place. The Mexican boxer will be paid $110 million net this season. His earnings come basically from fights ($100 million), pocketing "only" $10 million in advertising contracts or whatever he earns outside the ring.
Rounding out the list are golfer Dustin Johnson ($107 million net), golfer Phil Mickelson ($106 million), basketballer Stephen Curry ($100.4 million), tennis player Roger Federer ($95.1 million), and basketballer Kevin Durant ($89.1 million).
