Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have been going head-to-head since 2004, well that battle continued this time when it comes to both of their bank accounts. Forbes released a list of the richest sports players in 2023 and guess who were the top two?
A certain Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. The top three earning athletes are soccer players with Kylian Mbappe rounding out the third spot. When broken down the combined earning power of the three is $386 million.
The list is broken down as follows for the top 10 highest earning athletes.
Cristiano Ronaldo ($136M)
Lionel Messi ($130m)
Kylian Mbappe ($120m)
Lebron James ($119.5m)
Canelo Alvarez ($110m)
Dustin Johnson ($107m)
Phil Mickelson ($106m)
Stephan Curry ($100.4m)
Roger Federer ($95.1m)
Kevin Durant ($89.1m)
Breaking down Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi’s 2023 earnings
According to Forbes, CR7’s estimated annual salary is now $75 million this season, with all his marketing and other commitments, Ronaldo is set to earn $136 million total.
Lionel Messi on the other hand is not far behind, with $130 million, Messi’s contract is split down the middle with $65 million in salary and another $65 million in other areas. If Messi moves from PSG, which looks more than likely, the Argentine World Cup winner will almost double his earning potential depending on where he goes next.