Portuguese soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo is the highest paid athlete of the year 2023 according to the Forbes magazine’s recent publication.
Ronaldo topped the list with an earning of $136 million followed closely by his fierce nemesis Lionel Messi who is a forward at the French football club, Paris St-Germain(PSG) with an earning of about $130 million.
Ronaldo, who moved to the Saudi Arabian club AlNassr last year following a bitter fall out with Manchester United’s coach Erik Ten Hag had a number of revenue streams that contributed in making him the highest earning athlete for this year.
Some of these revenue streams are among others corporate endorsements, partnerships and sales of merchandise. However, the major contributor is the salary he receives at his current club, AlNassr, a top-flight club football club which is estimated to be about $ 75 million.
Other athletes who made to the list are among others Lebron James, the American star basketball player who plays for the Los Angeles’ Lakers basketball club. James comes in at position 4 having made an estimated $119.5 million. $46 million of this figure was made on-field while a whopping $75 million of his earnings came from off-field revenue sources such as sponsorships and endorsements.
PSG and France soccer star and World Cup 2022 Golden Boot winner, Kylian Mbappe also made it to the list at position 3 with an estimated annual earning of $ 120 million. The 24-year-old made $100 million on-field and $20 million off-field and is the only under-30 who features in the Top Ten list. He was position 35 in last year’s ratings.
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