Cristiano Ronaldo was the world’s highest-paid athlete in 2024, with the Portuguese topping the likes of Steph Curry, Tyson Fury and Lionel Messi.

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• Portuguese icon well clear in first place
• Eight sports represented in top 100
• Five football players inside the top 10

• Table of Contents

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  WHAT HAPPENED?

  Evergreen frontman Ronaldo, who is still going strong with Saudi Pro League side Al-Nassr at 40 years of age, earned $260 million (£208m) across the last calendar year – with $215m (£172m) of that coming from his record-breaking contract in the Middle East.

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  THE GOSSIP

  NBA superstar Curry, of the Golden State Warriors, fills second spot on the top-earners list on $153.8m (£123m). Former world heavyweight boxing champion Fury is third ($147m/£118m), while Ronaldo’s eternal rival Messi – who is now in MLS with Inter Miami – sitting fourth ($135m/£108m) and LA Lakers icon LeBron James ($133.2m/£107m) completing the top five.

• DID YOU KNOW?

  Overall, the top 100 highest-paid athletes on the planet pulled in an estimated $6.2 billion (£5bn) between them. Prominent figures from eight different sports – football, basketball, boxing, golf, American football, Formula 1, baseball and tennis – make the list, with 27 countries represented.

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• TELL ME MORE

  There are no female athletes inside the top 100, with tennis superstar Coco Gauff – who won her maiden Grand Slam title at the US Open in 2024 – the top earner in her field at $30.4m (£24m). Her on and off-court appeal is expected to help her climb the charts in years to come.

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Tags: Futebol
Category: News