“How King Football Rules Forbes List of Highest-Paid Athletes”

How much the Forbes list of highest paid athletes really has to do with their sport.

It is a benchmark among superstars, the Forbes list of the world’s highest-paid athletes. Determined by the US business magazine, it shows their gross income for the past twelve months, including salaries, prize money or appearance money as well as sponsorship income and license fees.

The first insight: King football rules the world of sport. Top earner Cristiano Ronaldo enjoyed an income of $136 million, fueled by his move from Manchester United to Saudi Arabia.

The hourly wage of “CR7” is still quite decent at $15,525.

The Forbes podium is completed by two other football stars, Lionel Messi ($130 million) and Kylian Mbappé ($120 million), both of whom have even better paid contracts in Paris than Ronaldo in Riyadh, but cannot match his marketing appeal . Because Ronaldo did not earn 90 of his 136 million directly from football games.

Although the 38-year-old is on the home stretch of his career, he is still irresistible to the advertising industry with his 850 million followers on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

In terms of off-field revenue, however, there was someone who outstripped Ronaldo. In terms of competition, Roger Federer has only picked up his racket once in the past twelve months, namely when he left his tennis pension in autumn 2022. Even without a serve, forehand or volley, the Swiss conceded an additional 95 million. Sometimes it’s enough to just be Roger Federer.