Courtesy: Google
Cristiano Ronaldo, the Portuguese footballing superstar, who plays for Al-Nassr in club football, has topped the list of Forbes highest-paid athletes for the third year in a row. The 40-year-old has topped the list five times during his illustrious footballing career, and his estimated total earnings have increased by $15 million to reach a massive $275 million in the year 2025, well ahead of American basketball player Stephen Curry in second place with $156 million estimated total earnings.
Notably, the on-field earnings of Cristiano Ronaldo is a staggering $225 million, while his off-field earnings are $50 million, with the latter just behind the likes of Shohei Ohtani, Stephen Curry, LeBron James, Lionel Messi, and equal to Kevin Durant. In the entire history of the Forbes highest-paid athletes lists, only Floyd Mayweather earned more money than the Portuguese, up to $300 million in 2015 and equalled him with $275 million in 2018.
Most of the estimated total earnings of Cristiano Ronaldo has come from his lucrative contract with Al-Nassr in the Saudi Pro League, which was signed in December 2022. At the same time, the off-field earnings have come on the back of sponsorship and endorsement deals, which is due to his immense popularity on social media, with 939 million followers across different platforms online.
World's top 10 highest-paid athletes 2025:
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Cristiano Ronaldo, football: $275 million
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Stephen Curry, basketball: $156 million
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Tyson Fury, boxing: $146 million
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Dak Prescott, American football: $137 million
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Lionel Messi, football: $135 million
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LeBron James, basketball: $133.8 million
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Juan Soto, baseball: $114 million
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Karim Benzema, football: $104 million
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Shohei Ohtani, baseball: $102.5 million
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Kevin Durant, basketball: $101.4 million
