Ronaldo tops rich league again

Cristiano Ronaldo tops the list of the world’s 50 highest-paid for 2025 compiled by Forbes and just published by the magazine.

It’s a familiar feeling for Ronaldo, who leads the list for the fourth straight year from earning around $300 million.

Mexican boxer Canelo Alvarez is second with $170m and Ronaldo’s rival footballer Lionel Messi is third with $140m. The figures represent both on-field earnings and off-field earnings.

Los Angeles was again a lucrative market for LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers at No. 4 on the list with $137.8m and Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Dodgers at No. 5 who earned $127.6m.

Messi, 39 next month, has reportedly joined David Beckham in football’s billionaire club, and his move to Inter Miami now looks even smarter in hindsight. According to Bloomberg, the Inter Miami captain has surpassed the $1bn mark after nearly three years in the United States with the MLS club.

What’s most impressive is that Messi did not simply accept a late-career payday. He chose a project that offered not just a salary, but also commercial leverage and long-term business opportunities.

Messi’s career seemed complete after he led Argentina to victory at the 2022 World Cup, but the motivation to keep playing is still there and so too for Ronaldo, 41, as the duo prepare to make history at next month’s tournament in North America, Canada and Mexico.

This will be the last dance for the aging icons, who will become the first men to play in six different World Cups, 20 years on from their fresh-faced debuts at the finals. They have since become legends far beyond the football pitch, two of the most recognisable people on the planet as they contemplate retirement.