Ronaldo becomes the world’s No 1 highest-paid player in 2023
- Valerie Charoux
- Oct 13, 2023
- 1 min read
Updated: Apr 20, 2025
Portugal football news – Portuguese Cristiano Ronaldo becomes the world’s No 1 highest-paid football player in 2023 according to data just released by Forbes.
Portugal’s wonder boy Cristiano Ronaldo is reported to be the No 1 highest-paid football player in the world in 2023 with total earnings of USD 260 million. Forbes has assessed Ronaldo’s earnings to be USD 200 million on-field at Al Nassr and USD 60 million off-field obtained through advertising contracts.
The world’s second highest-paid football player in 2023 is Argentinian Messi whose total projected earnings reach $135 million. Forbes has assessed Messi’s earnings to be USD 65 million on-field at Inter Miami and USD 70 million off-field obtained through advertising contracts.
“Everybody's still watching Ronaldo” says Rossi Biddle, the owner of sports marketing firm XtraTimeFC. Ronaldo’s earnings are boosted by lucrative off-field advertising contracts, including Nike, Jacob & Co, Clear, Herbalife and Binance, through which he is earning an estimated amount of USD 60 million annually.
The Forbes ranking includes the world’s highest-paid football players for the 2023-24 season as well as off-field estimates of annual endorsements, licensing, and appearances.
