Cristiano Ronaldo Tops the 2025 List of the World's Richest Athletes, Surpassing Lionel Messi.

Cristiano Ronaldo has once again cemented his status as a global sports icon. The Portuguese megastar has once more been named the world's Highest-Earning Athlete for 2025 by Forbes magazine. This marks the fourth consecutive year CR7 holds the top position.

The captain of the Portugal National Team recorded total earnings of 300 million US dollars, or approximately Rp 5.3 trillion, throughout 2025. This remarkable figure puts Ronaldo ahead of elite top athletes across all sporting disciplines worldwide.

The Al-Nassr FC star's income even far surpasses that of world Champion boxer Canelo Alvarez, who ranks second with total earnings of 170 million US dollars.

The majority of Canelo's revenue comes from fight purses collected over the previous boxing season.

However, his in-ring performance during 2025 is deemed underwhelming, after only recording one win alongside one defeat.

Meanwhile, Ronaldo's longstanding rival Lionel Messi sits in third place on the list. The Argentina National Team captain earned 140 million US dollars over this year.

Below Messi, NBA superstar LeBron James takes fourth position with total earnings of 137.8 million US dollars.

Fifth place is occupied by Japanese Baseball star Shohei Ohtani, who recorded 127.6 million US dollars in income.

Ronaldo's financial success is not solely derived from his massive salary at Al-Nassr. The 41-year-old forward has also continuously expanded his personal Business empire through the CR7 clothing brand, Pestana CR7 hotel chain, as well as high-value endorsement contracts and social media promotion deals.

This substantial income further solidifies Ronaldo as one of the most influential athletes on the planet, both on and off the field. He was previously noted as the first professional footballer to attain billionaire status.

That said, Ronaldo is no longer the only billionaire listed in World Football. Lionel Messi is also confirmed to have officially reached this same milestone.

A Bloomberg report via the Bloomberg Billionaires Index states Messi's total net worth has now exceeded the 1 billion US dollar threshold, after adjustments for taxes and market asset performance.

Messi's income flows from multiple sources, ranging from his salary at Inter Miami CF, television broadcast rights, real estate assets, to share ownership in an Argentine restaurant chain.

The rivalry between Ronaldo and Messi plays out not only on the Football pitch, but also in business and personal wealth. Even as Messi has matched the billionaire status, Ronaldo still retains the title of the world's highest annual earning athlete for 2025.