Cristiano Ronaldo is the highest paid athlete of 2023

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).