The rivalry between Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi has once again been underscored by CR7 surpassing the Argentine superstar in the list of the top 10 highest-earning athletes in history.
Undeniably, Cristiano Ronaldo, the forward currently representing Al Nassr FC in the Saudi Pro League, and Lionel Messi, the star of Inter Miami, are contemporary football icons. While Ronaldo is regarded as a product of relentless dedication, Messi has ascended to the pinnacle of the sport through innate talent. Together, Messi and Ronaldo have amassed a total of 13 Ballon d’Or awards, a testament to their status as the greatest players of their generation. Given their superstar status, it is natural that Ronaldo and Messi also outearn their peers. This is evidenced by the recent publication of the top 10 highest-earning athletes in history by the website Sportico.
“Our findings are based on analysis with industry experts, historical data from media outlets such as Forbes and Sports Illustrated. The earnings of each athlete are derived from salaries, bonuses, endorsements, image rights, social media interactions…,” shared a representative of Sportico. “Inflationary factors are also taken into account here.” Topping the list is the NBA legend, Michael Jordan, who has earned a staggering $3.75 billion, followed by golf icon Tiger Woods pocketing $2.66 billion.
Two names that particularly attract attention, especially from football enthusiasts on Sportico’s wealth ranking, are Portuguese forward Ronaldo and Argentine star Messi. A clear observation from the ranking reveals Ronaldo surpassing Messi. While Ronaldo ranks third with an inflation-adjusted earning of $1.92 billion, Messi stands sixth with earnings totaling $1.67 billion.
It must be noted that Ronaldo is currently 39 years old. At this age, many of his peers have long retired. Therefore, Ronaldo’s achievement in securing the third position is highly commendable, especially considering his move to Saudi Arabia to play football for Al Nassr FC since early 2023.
Ronaldo’s significant leap ahead of Messi is attributed to his total earnings of $275 million in 2023 alone. Of this, Ronaldo received $215 million solely from salary and bonuses from Al Nassr FC in Saudi Arabia. Additionally, Ronaldo earned around $60 million from endorsement deals with brands such as Nike, Herbalife, PokerStars, as well as his ventures in hotel and clothing businesses.
In contrast, Messi falls short of Ronaldo primarily due to his earnings in the past year being less than half of the Portuguese international’s. Messi earned only $130 million. In reality, if Messi were to accept an offer from Saudi Arabia, his earnings in 2023 would surpass Ronaldo’s significantly.
However, Messi chose to move to the United States to join Inter Miami CF with a relatively modest salary. Specifically, Messi receives only $54 million from the team owned by former football star David Beckham. Interestingly, Beckham himself ranks third among football stars featured in the Top 10 highest-earning athletes of all time. Specifically, Beckham ranks eighth with total earnings to date amounting to $1.5 billion.