No soccer players made more money than Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi in 2025. Although the next generation of superstars, including Kylian Mbappé, Lamine Yamal and Ousmane Dembélé, have taken center stage in soccer this year,

Cristiano Ronaldo tops Forbes’ 2025 highest-paid athletes list with $275M, ahead of Tyson Fury and Stephen Curry, while Lionel Messi drops to fifth place

Cristiano Ronaldo is still raking in the paper. The Al-Nassr forward is the highest-paid athlete in 2025, according to Brett Knight of Forbes, bringing in $275 million between his on- and off-field earnings.