The Cristiano Ronaldo vs Lionel Messi debate will probably rumble on until the end of time, but there is one record the former has over the latter.
Portugal and Al Nassr captain Ronaldo has been declared the third-highest paid athlete of all-time – nice work if you can get it.
Ronaldo is now the fifth-highest earning sportsperson everGetty
According to Sportico, Ronaldo’s career at Sporting Lisbon, Manchester United, Real Madrid, Juventus and now Al Nassr in Saudi Arabia has seen him earn a whopping £1.47billion in inflation-adjusted earnings – a metric used to compare the earnings of sports stars, past and present, based on current day value. Even on current valuations, he would still be third behind an American top two.
That total is more than Messi, who has earned £1.28bn, putting him joint-sixth on the all-time list, just ahead of his Inter Miami owner David Beckham, tennis icon Rodger Federer and boxing great Floyd Mayweather, who rounds out the top ten.
As well as his football earnings and his lifestyle brand, Ronaldo is a serial investor with business interests including a hotel chain, a media company and a line of hair transplant clinics.
However, the 38-year-old has some work to do to catch up with the sporting world’s top highest-earners.
Legendary golfers Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer are joint-sixth and fourth on the top-ten ranking, with inflation-adjusted earnings of £1.28bn and £1.35bn respectively.
Nicklaus is a famous golf course designer and author, while Palmer owns the Bay Hill Club and Lodge in Orlando and helped to found The Golf Channel.
Between the golfers in fifth is basketball’s LeBron James at £1.3bn, a figure that may well increase thanks to the marketing opportunities that will come with the NBA legend now playing alongside his son Bronny with the LA Lakers.
Second on the list is another golfing legend in Tiger Woods.
Woods, regarded as the greatest golfer of all time, is tied for first in PGA Tour wins and ranks second in men’s major championships.
Off the course, Woods has launched his own foundation, an NFT and even opened a bar in New York with Justin Timberlake called T-Squared Social.
Cars and the gym – Ronaldo loves them both and has money for the very best@cristiano
Ronaldo and his partner, Georgina Rodriguez, live a very comfortable lifestyle in Saudi Arabia where he plays football for Al Nassr and is rewarded with a hefty contract@cristiano
Ronaldo is now a regular at Saudi’s big boxing events where he mixes with the biggest names in sport such as Eddie Hearn from his ringside seatMark Robinson/Matchroom
In terms of total career earnings, Woods has racked up £2.04bn, putting him second behind the runaway leader at the top of the list – basketball icon Michael Jordan.
MJ spent 15 years in the NBA and has gone on to become a hugely successful entrepreneur, raking in a fortune of £2.87bn.
Jordan’s business interests include investing in the NBA team Charlotte Hornets and baseball side Miami Marlins, as well as owning restaurants and a golf course in Florida.
Jordan purchased the Hornets in 2010 for around £210m, but sold his majority stake in the basketball franchise for £2.3bn in August 2023 – making an incredible profit.
His biggest source of regular income is his agreement with Nike, with the ‘Air Jordan’ brand generating £1bn a year in sales and even having a Hollywood movie made about it.
Jordan also starred alongside Bugs Bunny and his Looney Tunes pals in the cult 1996 movie hit ‘Space Jam’ which earned over £250million at the box office, with MJ taking home a £20m pay cheque.
Michael Jordan tops the list of highest-paid athletes ever
MJ is also renowned for his lavish lifestyle due to his incredible wealthGetty Images – Getty
His place is also even better explained by the fact the top 50 includes more basketball players than any other sport.
Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant are two other huge names among the NBA’s 12, while golf boasts eight names and football just four.
