Cristiano Ronaldo Tops Forbes’ Highest Paid Athletes List For 2025
Whatever Cristiano Ronaldo touches, apparently turns to gold.
Despite being 40 years old, Ronaldo continues to score goals like there's nothing to it. And Ronaldo is currently scoring those goals for Saudi Pro League club Al-Nassr, where he's earning an enourmous salary.
Courtesy of his earnings from the SPL club, the Portuguese superstar has topped the list of Forbes' highest-paid athletes of 2024. Ronaldo's earnings, including salary and endorsements, amounted to an eye watering $275 million.
MORE: Cristiano Ronaldo Net Worth
NBA superstar and the face of the Holden State Warriors, Stephen Curry, is second on the list with his earnings of $156 million. In third place is retired boxer Tyson Fury, who earned $146 million. NFL superstar Dak Prescott, who plays for the Dallas Cowboys, is fourth, with $137 million.
Inter Miami's Lionel Messi is fifth with $135 million. LA Lakers' LeBron James is sixth on the list with earnings of $133.8 million, and Juan Soto ($114 million), Karim Benzema ($104 million), Shohei Ohtani ($102.5 million), and Kevin Durant ($101.4 million) conclude the list.
Checkout the full top 20 below.
Ronaldo tops Forbes’ 2025 list of highest-paid athletes with $275M—a new record for a soccer player, per @Forbes. pic.twitter.com/eOVGWHiNwy
— Boardroom (@boardroom) May 15, 2025
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Cristiano Ronaldo has scored 33 goals and provided four assists in 39 appearances across competitions for Saudi Pro League club Al-Nassr this season. He continues to captain Al-Nassr and Portugal.
Ronaldo is expected to play at the 2026 FIFA World Cup for Portugal despite the fact that he'll be 41years old at the time of the tournament in the United States.
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Apratim is an experienced sports journalist having covered European and World Football, Combat Sports, Olympic Sports, and more for online media publications like Sportskeeda, EssentiallySports, and more. He is currently an MSc. in Sport Marketing student at Loughborough University, London.