According to Forbes magazine, Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) duo Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe complete the top three.
Cristiano Ronaldo has reclaimed the title of highest-paid athlete in the world for the first time since 2017 as a result of his move to Saudi Arabian club Al Nassr. Ronaldo made $136 million, with Forbes reporting that his annual playing wage increased to an estimated $75 million. He signed a contract with the Saudi football club through 2025 and earned $136 million after leaving Manchester United last year.
More than 200 million euros ($220 million) have been reportedly paid out in Ronaldo’s contract, according to the media. Messi, a 35-year-old striker for PSG, came in second on the list after earning a total of $130 million, followed by Mbappe, the youngest player on the list at 24 years old, who came in third after earning $120 million.
Both players are club teammates. Qatar Sports Investments is the company that owns PSG. The NBA legend LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers and boxer Canelo Alvarez of Mexico rounded out the top five with respective salaries of $119.5 million and $100.5 million.
The emergence of LIV Golf, a breakaway tour that has attracted some of the top players from the American PGA Tour with substantial quantities of money, was another event of the previous year. Two of its golfers place in the top 10. After making the contentious conversion to LIV Golf, former world number one Dustin Johnson (sixth with $107 million) saw the largest gain. Johnson did not even make the top 50 in 2022.
A fellow LIV golfer, Phil Mickelson, came in at number seven ($106 million) on the Forbes list with him. The other two basketball players on the list are Kevin Durant of the Phoenix Suns and four-time NBA champion Stephen Curry, both of whom are worth $100.4 million.
The only athlete who has retired in the top 10 is former tennis great Roger Federer ($95.1m).
McGregor beats Messi and Ronaldo in list of highest-paid athletes this year
According to Forbes, its on-field earnings numbers account for all prizes, salaries, and bonuses received in the previous 12 months, while off-field earnings are an estimate of sponsorship agreements, appearance fees, licensing income, and cash returns from businesses that athletes own.
 duo Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe complete the top three.){kind=link}