Cristiano Ronaldo world’s highest paid athlete at $136 million
Cristiano Ronaldo tops Forbes’ 2023 list of the highest grossing athletes playing soccer in Saudi Arabia, which also gave tens of millions of dollars in upfront guarantees to top earners Phil Mickelson and Dustin Johnson.
DUBAI — Cristiano Ronaldo is the world’s highest paid professional athlete, according to Forbes’ 2023 list of the highest grossing athletes, in part due to his $75 million-per-year contract for leaving Manchester United and joining Saudi Arabia’s Al-Nassr football/soccer team.
The kingdom made the Forbes list this year in other sports as well. Saudi-backed LIV Golf gave tens of millions of dollars in upfront guarantees to leading earners Phil Mickelson and Dustin Johnson, pulling them away from the PGA Tour.
Forbes included on-field and off-field annual earnings of athletes from May 2022 to May 2023. On-field figures included prize money, salaries and bonuses. Off-field income was gathered from sponsorship deals and on side businesses from conversations with industry insiders.
What happened: Ronaldo earned $136 million this year, moving him up two spots from Forbes’ 2022 list of the highest paid athletes. The Portuguese soccer player placed third last year with $115 million.
