💰 Cristiano Ronaldo top as football stars dominate 100 best-paid athletes

A list of the highest paid athletes in the world for 2025 has resulted in football icon Cristiano Ronaldo coming out on top.

The information was compiled by Sportico and features stars from across eight separate sports, taking in over $6 billion between them (all prices in US dollars).

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The list is based on total income for 2025, taking into account salary, prize money and endorsements.

Al-Nassr and Portugal star Ronaldo, even at the age of 40, is number one with a total of $260m, split between $200m in salary and $60m in sponsorships.

That is double the amount of his old rival Lionel Messi in third place with $130m, with boxer Canelo Álvarez splitting the duo in second place.

The only other footballer to feature in the top 10 is Karim Benzema , who comes in at seventh with $115m.

The full list of footballers:

1. Cristiano Ronaldo - $260m

3. Lionel Messi - $130m

7. Karim Benzema - $115m

12. Kylian Mbappé - $95m

18. Erling Haaland - $77.9m

30. Neymar - $60m

34. Vinícius Júnior - $58m

43. Mohamed Salah - $54m

45. Riyad Mahrez - $53.5m

52. Sadio Mané - $50m

75. Harry Kane - $43.4m

86. Jude Bellingham - $39.5m

96. Robert Lewandowski - $38m

The result means Ronaldo remains top of the pile for the third successive year.

📸 Yasser Bakhsh - 2026 Getty Images