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.
