Forbes list of the world's highest-paid football players has been announced every year. Cristiano Ronaldo of Manchester United is the world's first and only billionaire football player, earning US$125 million from his salary and endorsement deals.
Cristiano Ronaldo is the first football athlete to top the Forbes' list of highest-earning athletes of the year as he already top list in 2016, 2017 and 2021
The 36-year-old legend, who topped the list ahead of Lionel Messi, Neymar, and Andres Iniesta, is also one of the world's top ten highest-paid athletes.
After finishing last season with Juventus as the league's top goalscorer and winning the European Championship's best player award, Manchester United announced that Ronaldo would return to Old Trafford, where he previously played from 2003 to 2009, scoring 118 goals in 292 games. He has won 32 major trophies over his 18-year career, including five UEFA Champions League wins, the UEFA European Championship for Portugal, and seven league crowns in England, Spain, and Italy, making him the first player to win titles in all three nations.
In early September, the 36-year-old broke the record for most goals scored in international soccer history when he scored for the 110th time in his country's World Cup qualification victory over Ireland. Ronaldo is the first team-sport athlete in the world to earn more than $1 billion in career earnings before taxes.
Ronaldo is expected to make $125 million before taxes in the 2021-22 season, with $70 million coming from salary and bonus for his return to United, where he won three Premier League crowns in a row and a Champions League trophy between 2003 and 2009. The rest comes from personal endorsements and agreements with companies such as Nike, Herbalife, Clear, and his CR7-branded portfolio, which includes perfume, lingerie, sunglasses, hotels, gyms, and more.
Only Roger Federer ($90 million), LeBron James ($65 million), and Tiger Woods ($60 million) earn more money as active athletes. And Ronaldo shows no signs of slowing down, as the 36-year-old continues to surpass many of his European opponents, the majority of whom are 10 years his junior: Ronaldo scored two goals in his return to Manchester United's Old Trafford. In the world's finest league, he currently has four goals in three games this season.
