Cristiano Ronaldo ranks as highest-paid athlete across all sports

Cristiano Ronaldo has topped the list of highest-paid athletes in all sports for the second consecutive year.

On Friday, U.S. business magazine Forbes reported that Ronaldo earned 260 million U.S. dollars over the past 12 months, both on and off the football field, securing the top spot on their list for the fourth time. This translates to approximately 712,062 dollars per day for the Portugal forward.

Spanish golfer Jon Rahm, 30, ranked second. After playing in the U.S. PGA tour until 2023, he moved to the Saudi-funded LIV Golf tour and reportedly earned 218 million dollars over the past 12 months. This marks Rahm's first appearance in the top 10 of the Forbes list.

Argentina's football legend Lionel Messi, 37, claimed the third spot with 135 million dollars. ESPN reported his annual salary at Inter Miami in the U.S. MLS as 20.45 million dollars. Interestingly, Messi's salary alone surpasses that of 25 out of 29 MLS clubs combined., the media reported.

Basketball stars LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo secured the fourth and fifth positions, respectively.


김정훈 hun@donga.com