In terms of sport, long-term rivals Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi have allowed themselves to be reduced to insignificance. Financially, however, the superstars returned to the top of the top earners in sport in the late autumn of their careers – with a slight advantage for the Portuguese.
Thanks to his contract with Al-Nassr in Saudi Arabia, Ronaldo is the top international earner again for the first time since 2017. According to Forbes, the 2016 European champion earned around 126 million euros (gross) over the course of 2023. Almost six million euros more than the Argentine Messi in second place, who has been wearing the jersey of Beckham’s club Inter Miami since last summer. In third place is another footballer, Kylian Mbappé, striker from Messi’s former club Paris St. Germain, who recorded around 111 million euros in income.
Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo ahead of Federer and Williams
The continent on which they play a sport does not seem to play a significant role in their salary. A big name and good marketing outweigh the sporting relevance. This is also shown by the position of tennis pensioner Roger Federer (42) in the ranking. The Swiss had already played his last official career game in 2022, but in 2023 he still ended up in ninth place on the list with income of around 88 million euros.
Serena Williams, who is the first woman on the list at number 49, also benefits from perfect marketing – but the “gender pay gap” also affects her here. Like Federer, the 23-time Grand Slam winner also ended her career in 2022. Nevertheless, the 42-year-old still recorded around 41.5 million in income in 2023, making her the highest-paid athlete of the year.
As with Ronaldo, the move to the desert paid off for the American golfers Dustin Johnson and Phil Mickelson. The two major winners left the prestigious PGA Tour and are now playing on the Saudi Arabian LIV Tour. With 99 million (Johnson) and 98 million euros (Mickelson), the two golf greats are in sixth and seventh place.
NBA: LeBron James, Stephen Curry und Kevin Durant in den Top Ten
The Croesus among non-football players is currently one of three NBA players in the top ten, basketball superstar LeBron James. With around 110 million euros, the 38-year-old narrowly missed the podium in fourth place. Stephen Curry from the Golden State Warriors (93 million euros, eighth place) and Kevin Durant from the Phoenix Suns (82 million, tenth place) are a little further down.
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The top ten is completed by an exotic: The multiple boxing world champion Canelo Alvarez from Mexico took in almost 101 million euros and is therefore in fifth place behind James. (aw/sid)
2023-12-27 21:03:05
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