Forbes revenue ranking in 2025: Ronaldo ranked first with 275 million, Curry ranked second with 156 million, Messi ranked fifth with 135 million

May 15th Forbes announced the list of the ten highest-paid athletes in 2025, Ronaldo topped the top for the third consecutive year and the fifth time in total.

In the past 12 months, combined with his salary and off-court business activities at Victory Club in Riyadh, Ronaldo is expected to earn $275 million before tax and before deducting broker fees - the third highest annual income in history for active athletes, according to Forbes. In history, only Mayweather's income has exceeded that of Ronaldo.

In the 2025 ranking, Ronaldo led $119 million to second-ranked basketball player Stephen Curry. The gap is particularly staggering, as Curry earned $156 million set a record in his sports, breaking the NBA record set by LeBron James last year of $128.2 million.

The top ten athletes in the world in 2025

$275 million

Royce

$156 million

Stephen Curry

$146 million

Tyson Fury

$137 million

Dak Prescott

$5}$135 million

Messi

#6•133.8 million

LeBron James

$114 million

Juan Soto

$8}$104 million

Karim Benzema

$9•102.5 million

Shohei Otani

#10•101.4 million

Kevin Durant