Cristiano Ronaldo tops Forbes’ ranking of the 10 highest-paid athletes, with Lionel Messi in third place.

For the first time in Forbes’ history, the names appearing in the rankings all earn more than $100 million (£79 million) per year. It’s no surprise that Portuguese striker Cristiano Ronaldo takes first place as he has the most lucrative contract in world football at the Saudi Pro League in the Al Nassr shirt.

Accordingly, Ronaldo earns 157 million pounds ($199 million) per year at Al Nassr, where he has scored 48 goals this season, and earns an additional 48 million pounds ($61 million) from a series of sponsorship and endorsement deals.

On the other hand, his arch-rival, eight-time Ballon d’Or winner Lionel Messi, earns £107 million ($135 million) per year. The Argentine superstar is currently playing for Inter Miami in MLS and signed a lucrative television contract with Apple TV, he also earns a lot of money from advertising contracts.

Kylian Mbappe, who is expected to join Real Madrid this summer after announcing he will leave Paris Saint-Germain as a free agent, the French striker takes sixth place with 87 million pounds ($110 million). )/year. His former PSG teammate Neymar, currently in Saudi Arabia with Ronaldo, took home £85 million ($108 million) while former Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema ranked eighth with £84 million ($106 million). million USD)/year.

Meanwhile, golf star Jon Rahm is currently ranked second in the rankings with 172 million pounds (218 million USD) thanks to the lucrative LIV contract. NBA greats LeBron James (£101m/$128m) and Giannis Antetokounmpo (£88m/$111m) take fourth and fifth place respectively, while Golden State Warriors legend Steph Curry ranked ninth with £81 million ($103 million).

The top 10 is determined by Baltimore Ravens midfielder Lamar Jackson in football (79 million pounds/100 million USD).