The name Cristiano Ronaldo has returned to the top of the global financial rankings, after once again topping the list of the highest-paid athletes in the world during the year 2025, according to the annual classification published by the Sportico website, which specializes in sports economics, and reported by several international media outlets.
In this context, the report confirmed that the Portuguese star, a player for the Saudi Al-Nasr club, achieved a total income of $260 million during the past year, a figure that places him far ahead of his closest pursuers. This huge amount is due to a combination of his high salary in the Saudi League and sponsorship and advertising contracts, as advertising revenues alone constituted about $60 million, which reflects Ronaldo’s exceptional marketing power despite his advanced age.
On the other hand, the famous Mexican boxer Saul Canelo Alvarez came in second place with an income of $137 million, including $12 million from sponsorship contracts, which means that his income does not even reach half of what the Portuguese star achieved. Third place went to Argentine Lionel Messi, the American Inter Miami player, with a total of $130 million, benefiting from his contract in the American League and his global commercial partnerships.
In a related context, the classification included prominent names from various sports, with baseball player Juan Soto ranked fourth with an income of $129.2 million, followed by basketball star LeBron James fifth with $128.7 million, which reflects the great diversity of sources of sports income at the global level.
In terms of French attendance, the Sportico report indicated that only one name entered the top ten, and that was Karim Benzema, who ranked sixth thanks to his huge contract with the Saudi club Al-Ittihad, achieving an income estimated at 115 million dollars. Kylian Mbappe also came in twelfth place with $95 million, while Rudy Gobert appeared in eighty-fourth place with an income of $39.6 million.
In conclusion, this classification confirms that Cristiano Ronaldo is still the most difficult figure in the global sports economy equation, benefiting from the experience of professionalism in Saudi Arabia, which has turned into a major financial platform, at a time when other stars continue to chase him with large numbers, but with clear differences.
@Alaa Omri
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