THE ANGELS.- The soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo remained at the top of the magazine's annual list of the world's highest-paid athletes Forbesin which the Spanish golfer Jon Rahm jumped to second place and Lionel Messi was third.
The ranking, published on Thursday, is headed by the Portuguese Ronaldo for the fourth time in his career.
The 39-year-old striker has an estimated income of $260 million, a record amount for a soccer player, Forbes noted.
A total of 200 million dollars comes from his monumental contract with the Saudi team Al-Nassr and the rest of his commercial agreements off the field.
The great takeoff on the list is led by golfer Jon Rahm thanks to his high-profile signing in December for LIV Golf, the Saudi circuit that has snatched great stars from the PGA with multimillion-dollar prizes and guaranteed contracts.
The Spaniard, winner of the Augusta Masters in 2023, has earnings estimated at 218 million dollars, of which 198 million come from his sporting activity.
His controversial landing at LIV Golf thus elevates Rahm to second place on the podium from 28th place last year.
The Argentine Lionel Messi, on his side, fell from second to third place with income of 135 million dollars. A total of 65 million comes from his earnings as a player for Inter Miami of the MLS and another 70 million from other commercial sources such as his sponsorships with Adidas or Apple.
Forbes Top-10:
NBA stars LeBron James (Lakers) and Giannis Antetokounmpo (Bucks) occupy fourth and fifth place on the list with income of 128.2 and 111 million dollars respectively.
The top-10 is completed by footballers Kylian Mbappé (110 million), Neymar (108) and Karim Benzema (106), basketball player Stephen Curry (102) and American football figure Lamar Jackson (100.5).
For the first time in history, the ten highest-paid athletes in the world have incomes exceeding $100 million each, Forbes noted.
