Cristiano Ronaldo Named Highest-Paid Athlete, Lionel Messi Not Even Second in List

Football News: Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are arguably the best footballers to have ever played the beautiful game and hence throughout their careers, they have been compared. The two footballing icons also enjoy a massive fanbase and that is understandable given how big football is. But, who is richer? 

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Messi or CR7 - Who is Richer? 

A latest report on The Sun claims Cristiano Ronaldo is the highest-paid athlete in the world. In fact, the figures show he is roughly double of Messi in terms of money. Ronaldo has earned $261 million over the past 12 months with his association with Saudi club Al Nassr. Ronaldo's contract extension in June has further increased his salary to $662,000 per day. 

Messi earned $136 million, which is just 52 per cent of Ronaldo’s income. The one factor which has not worked for Messi is that he is past his prime. But Messi still attracts huge global brands and his earnings from outside the football pitch is more than his salary at Inter Miami. 

As per Celebrity Net Worth, Ronaldo’s fortune is estimated at $1 billion, while Messi has $850 million.

Five of the top 10 richest athletes in the world is dominated by footballers. Five of the top 10 are footballers. While Messi occupies the third spot, at number two is golfer Jon Rahm. Karim Benzema and Neymar are also part of the top 10. 

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Messi, CR7 Future

With both players in the twilight of their careers, time and again there have been speculations over how long will they continue. 

Up until now, the two legends have not given any confirmation or clarity on it.