Argentinian soccer player Lionel Messi is said to have earned around 130 million dollars in the last twelve months. This puts him first in the new “Forbes” list of the highest-earning athletes.
First place in the “Forbes” ranking of the highest paid athletes: Lionel Messi.
Is Lionel Messi really doing himself a favor with this job? That’s the question media professionals around the world asked when it was recently announced that the Argentine football star would become Saudi Arabia’s official tourism ambassador. The fact that Messi ignored the warnings of numerous human rights organizations – and thus also accepted a possible damage to his image – is all the more astonishing in view of the latest list of the American business magazine “Forbes” among the highest-earning athletes.
Because there Messi ranks first for the second time after 2019. According to the ranking released Thursday – which is based on research by the magazine’s editors and estimates – the 34-year-old earned a total of $130 million over the past 12 months after joining Paris Saint-Germain from FC Barcelona. According to Forbes estimates, the change caused Messi to lose around $ 22 million in salary, but he still receives a salary of around $ 75 million on the pitch. The Argentine received the remaining $55 million from non-sports deals.
LeBron James and Cristiano Ronaldo in second and third place
Second place: LeBron James.
Messi tops the rankings ahead of American basketball player LeBron James, who pocketed a total of over $121 million last year. Without his advertising revenue, however, the Los Angeles Lakers player would only have been sixth. The 37-year-old earned around twice as much as he did on the field ($41.2 million) with business outside of sport (around $80 million).
Third place: Cristiano Ronaldo.
Third place is taken by Messi’s rival Cristiano Ronaldo. The Portuguese earned around $115 million in total last year. However, the Manchester United striker is on par with Messi in terms of income from advertising contracts: the 37-year-old earned around 55 million dollars off the field.
Fourth place: Neymar.
In fourth place is Brazil’s soccer superstar Neymar, who earned a total of $95 million last year. With around 70 million, the 30-year-old earned even more on the field than his competitor Ronaldo.
Fifth place: Stephen Curry.
Behind Neymar in fifth and sixth place are two basketball players: Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors and Kevin Durant of the Brooklyn Nets, each with over $92 million.
Sixth place: Kevin Durant.
Roger Federer earns the most from advertising contracts
Seventh place: Roger Federer.
Tennis ace Roger Federer, who was number one in the “Forbes” list two years ago, follows in seventh place. This is despite the fact that the Swiss has not played a tennis game since last July after another knee operation and was eliminated in the quarter-finals in Wimbledon against Hubert Hurkacz from Poland. Around 90 million of his total income of around 90.7 million dollars last year came from his numerous advertising contracts. This puts Federer in first place, nobody has taken so much away from sport. Only $0.7 million of his earnings came from tournaments.
Eighth place: Saul “Canelo” Álvarez.
The bottom three spots on the list are occupied by Mexican boxer Saúl “Canelo” Álvarez (eighth with $90 million), seven-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady (ninth with $83.9 million) and Giannis Antetokounmpo, the most valuable Players from the last NBA Finals (10th place with $80.9 million).
Ninth place: Tom Brady.
How much Messi will receive for his agreement with Saudi Arabia is not known until now. Cristiano Ronaldo is said to have previously turned down the desert state’s offer. He is said to have been offered around 5.7 million euros. The sum of Messi’s deal should be in a comparable range. No matter how much it will be, Messi should once again be certain of a place in the top ranks of the next “Forbes” list.
